The Girl Who Walked in the Sun
by Sasusakui
Summary: The whole village learns of the death of Sakura Haruno, and not just any particular death. Murder. A beautiful ceremony is held for her and many of those close to her grieve. Five years later after everyone has seemed to have gotten over Sakura's brutal death their breath catches in their throats when word goes around that she was recently seen walking the streets. (Being Revised!)
1. Chapter 1

Birds were chirping their little hearts out, the weather was perfect, the wind was gentle going along his skin, and physically speaking, Naruto Uzamaki felt at ease as he walked through the forest along the outskirts of Konoha. His pace was slow and calm, although his nose was starting to go haywire from a strong odor that contrasted against the nice atmosphere outside, and it was for this reason that he was outside the village gates in the first place. His attire was lax as well. He only wore a short-sleeved t-shirt, his quite visible and infamous pair of orange and black pants, and simple black sandals considering he was actually coming from his home. Gentle wind ruffled his blonde hair, and despite the calm of the forest his senses were on high alert.

Eventually, he approached a small encirclement of large trees, the deep green foliage making it near impossible to see what may be hidden within, and it was at that moment his nose burned with the stench that had gotten stronger as he followed it looking for the source. Just before he was going to finally settle his curiosity, he rehashed once more on what made him come way out into the forest in the first place. It wasn't as safe as it was inside the gates, but if someone were to attempt to ambush him there would be no doubt he would sense them first, but besides that the blonde did think it odd that he was alone following a scent he had suddenly picked up while he was at home eating.

Naruto would've looked to Kurama for answers about why his senses were so high on this particular day, but that would be useless considering he was asleep at the moment and fairly dormant now that they were in a state of peace in the fire country. He figured that because Kurama was asleep was the main reason why his senses were abnormal, even while he slept he would like his host to be safe from harm, so abnormal sense made more reason to leave him with. Unlike his host's natural optimism, he knew that anything could happen at any possible moment, and if fate wished it...everyone you love could be snatched from you no matter what the circumstance.

Shaking himself out of his thoughts via shaking his head, Naruto decided to hurry up and see what's causing such a smell so he could hurry up and get back to the village before anyone started asking questions. More importantly, Sakura was suppose to be coming back home from her mission in Rain and he wanted to welcome her at the gates. Although he would much rather prefer Sasuke was there along side him to welcome back their valued teammate, he knew the Uchiha wouldn't care to do so, just as well as continue to avoid the Leaf all the same.

The blonde parted branches out of his way, and eventually had to cover his nose and mouth as the odor grew strong and made his eyes water profusely. As he made his way through, he had to stop momentarily and wipe his eyes so he could venture forth without having a branch whack him in the face. Once his feet met soft open ground, his blue eyes opened and an immediate and abrupt lurching in the pit of his stomach made him turn and vomit what he ate previously before coming there. He spit the rest of the bad taste out of his mouth and tried to calm his now irate heartbeat, if he didn't calm down right now he ran the risk of either invoking Kurama into a state of false aggression or worse suffer a heart attack right then and there. How did he not recognize the smell? Naruto was no stranger to death and he was present when someone else's jutsu or his own tore whatever adversary that stood in their way apart, but the fact that he didn't recognize the odor before he even got to this place was something to be worried about. Had he not been on a mission in that long?

Naruto swallowed thickly and almost threw up again because of the awful taste still lingering on his tongue, and dared to turn around again only to be met with a carcass laying open and unguarded about ten feet away. There was no need to go up close to it, because one thing struck out to him like a beam of light in the dark, but this was nothing to look forward to. The most unimaginable pain went tearing through Naruto's chest and his hand clutched at his chest until his flesh went pink and purple from the force and he fell to his hands and knees. A little voice in the back of his mind told him there was no way it could be true, he just saw her, happy and smiling and scolding him on a daily basis, waving goodbye to him from the village gates in good health and everything. But there was no mistake, no one else around had pink hair to his knowledge, and no one else wore the same colors as her. Her clan insignia was visible even from where he was on the ground, and all he could do is reach for her while he was on the ground and cry as his heart poured open and imploded.

"Sakura-chan..."

* * *

The Leaf hospital was in disarray. The blonde flashed himself into the lobby of the place, his white t-shirt no longer the same ivory, and blood was spilling all over the floor. Carnage was on full display and the smell held everyone still and their gaping mouths and gazes went unknown to Naruto who could do nothing but stand in the middle of everyone. Medics upon medics, nurses, doctors, patients, they all knew who it was in his arms and it only took that one person among the mix to start a revolution and everyone else followed along. Her clipboard clattered to the floor, a loud clap shocking people out of their stupor, and her eyes widened until tears started to spill over. She drew up her shaking hands to her face and opened her mouth to let out the most blood-curdling scream anyone's ever heard.

And soon the rest of the hospital, the people remaining in the lobby including the men, began to let out their screams as well until it turned into a cacophony of a distorted chorus of songs.

Someone came barreling through the front doors, someone of authority of course because soon people began to clear out, but Naruto could only stand there with a dead girl in his arms and her entrails seeping out of her body and onto the floor where blood still pooled. He was shaken up, shocked into his blood thinning and running cold, his face was stone still but his muscles shock with horror, and at that moment small hairs on the back of his neck began to bleach white little by little. He was spoken to but the words weren't decipherable, he had gone deaf to the world and he could hear no one except for his tiny beating heart. A hand was put on his shoulder but he didn't feel it, and he was forcefully turned around to reveal what was in his arms and loud sobs were like tinkling pieces of glass to his vision.

* * *

More sun. More gentle breeze and white clouds. More green grass and idle chirping of the winged beasts that flew in the sky above them all. It was like some cruel joke someone upstairs was pulling on the bulk of them and yet there was no humor to be seen. Naruto to this moment was still waiting for the punchline and the big reveal.

_Surprise! This was only meant to scare you and she's really holed up somewhere waiting for someone to rescue her._

Nothing. The reality almost made him want to cry all over again but he couldn't do that here because he wasn't allowed.

:::

He thought they all looked like little assembled soldiers standing there like that. Too many people grouped together in one place that couldn't possibly hold them all, but they seemed content with the close proximity. They needed it after all considering how truly unfortunate this day turned out to be.

Sasuke was allowed no where near the ceremony, but the eyes of a crow served him just fine as he watched through the black bodied bird perched a top a nearby pillar. He could see everyone and their faces, how stony they looked on the outside, and yet how broken they appeared on the inside. Jounin were present as well, and they stood near the back of the crowd, but the one of most importance was the one adorning silver hair. His particular mask was unreadable as he stood there next to others of his generation. Never the one to properly show emotion.

His finger twitched to the right a little and the crow moved its head accordingly, locking its sights on the Hokage that stood on the podium above everyone, her earthly brown colored eyes set downcast to show her grief. The true sign of her despair lied in her hands though, although down by her sides out of view from anyone else, the lifelessness from her fingers as they just hung there revealed that her will was sucked right out of her and instilled in the ivory, petite sized, box that held her student's remains.

"We are gathered today to honor the life of this village's most prized medic and my student, whom I've left...everything to" she spoke just loud enough for everyone to hear, "if I may speak freely even for this moment, without the title of Hokage attached to my name, I have to say that I feel just the same as someone burying their daughter. The bond we had as teacher and student was no secret to you all and if it wasn't for this village needing a leader at this critical point in time I would drop this hat right now and leave this god-forsaken place right now..."

Her words sparked surprise even in the Uchiha who watched from afar. He realized looking around that he wasn't the only one either, those that held their head down now gave her their up most attention and couldn't take their eyes off her. None of their past leaders spoke so openly and freely, revealing just what it was they were feeling so easily, it was a first and some old-timers just may call it blasphemy. Sasuke could applaud and also call the woman a fool, but he couldn't know the pain she was feeling and hoped he wouldn't have to in any lifetime. He's heard the stories about Tsunade though, and she's lost too much. It would take the fight out of anyone, even Naruto.

"Of all the losses I've suffered, this one probably stings the most. To watch her grow from being someone that relied on one thing to get by to actually becoming that thing that got her by was...astonishing. And now that vision of her reaching her peak has been snuffed out, and I will never know what because I can't bear it..."

The Uchiha could almost sympathize with her if he had the consciousness to do so, but what he could do was acknowledge her sorrow and pain. That was saying a lot for him and he would leave it at that. He knew what she meant when she said she would never know what exactly got Sakura killed, and that more than likely meant she would send no one on missions to find out. The vengeful spirit in him wanted to take that opportunity full force, but a piece of him knew that the pinkette would disapprove. She would go by what Kakashi said to her, and what she once said to him when they saw each other again after three years of no contact.

_"Revenge solves nothing, Sasuke" she told him with no ounce of fear, "it only makes the hole inside of you bigger"_

She had used that tone with him back then, the one that he hated even still, the one that said that she forgave him for everything he's done. How it made him seethe with anger. How naive was she? To forgive and to love so easily after everything he's done. Any right minded person would spit in his face if he bothered to show it again, but no...those two ex-teammates of his were absolutely insane. Even Kakashi who still believed that underneath it all there was still something left to salvage and it was getting harder and harder for him to prove to them that there wasn't and never will be. Never again. He could only imagine how weak and vulnerable he would be had he'd stayed in the Leaf and something like this happened.

Red spider lilies adorned the perimeter of the burial box, and on the top of it read Sakura's name and clan insignia, but Sasuke was more curious than that. He wished to know what she looked like inside of it, and his sharingan would grant him the access he wanted. It whispered from his lips and blood began to run from the creatures eyes as it peered at the object below. His vision was blurry for a moment before it cleared and his vision was being drawn to the oppressive aura that came from the crowd, and soon it was Kyuubi's eyes looking back at him instead of what he wanted to see, effectively scaring the crow into flying away from the danger that seemed to present itself.

:::

Naruto turned his head back towards Tsunade as she spoke and gave the directions for everyone, telling them to keep their last few words to a minimum so everyone could have their chance to say goodbye and present their flowers. The process itself went by smoothly and orderly, no one broke out of their masks at any given time during the whole thing surprisingly enough in Ino's case who was the closest female to Sakura aside from Tsunade herself. Nevertheless, the whole ceremony was beautiful and Naruto felt as if the even settled her death nicely if he was really thinking about it.

He knew Tsunade had no intentions of sending anyone out to figure out what really happened, but the blonde knew he would have to wait for now. It already angered him enough that it seemed like she didn't have the will to discover Sakura's killer, and that he would never forgive his Hokage for, but none of his bold talking or violent actions would help him here. Naruto would have to bite his tongue and simmer his anger at this moment in time, and he would have to wait for his door of opportunity to come up if he wished to do something himself. He would get his revenge if it was the last thing he did, and only then would he be able to truly mourn.

Once the ceremony ended and everyone was walking back to their respective homes or posts of duty, Naruto took an alternate route home waiting for a familiar cawing to descend upon him in a fit of animalistic rage. Just like he expected, the bird flew overhead momentarily and passed over him just to circle back around with talons and beak stuck out to gouge out his eyes, but the winged animal was caught easily in his bare hand. The blonde brought it close to his face, peering into its eyes and noticing the Mangekyou residing within, blood seeping into black feathers. Blue eyes narrowed in distaste as he continued to stare, seeing a piece of Sasuke's chakra network embedded within the bird and seething slightly.

"You attempted to look at her body and that was never part of the agreement," Naruto simply stated while the bird continued to struggle, "I allowed you the knowledge of knowing that Sakura-chan is gone, just as I have allowed you a blind spot to at least see the funeral. Your time will come when I am Hokage"

:::

The blonde's words echoed into the Uchiha's ears and the image of him flashed before onyx eyes as clear as the bird was looking at him. He frowned in response to what Naruto said simply because he was under the impression that out of all people Naruto would want him to at least see what extent of her injuries caused her to pass, but it seemed as though the blonde wouldn't have it. It didn't matter so much to the Uchiha, but he was curious and now that Naruto was so far against his inquiries it made him even more so. Just the subtle hint of hatred lying along the undertones Naruto's voice had Sasuke almost willing and anxious to travel all the way back to the Leaf just to see what was going on, but he would have to bide his time just like the blonde had to. They would both wait until Naruto became Hokage to make any kind of moves.

It was then that it was apparent Naruto had nothing left to say to the Uchiha and he immediately and effectively dispatched the bird. Simply by crushing it in his hand.

* * *

A/N: Had to re-make this because the concept behind it is still something I'm interested in. That and the fact that there isn't many Pein/Saku stories out and about under this genre and I want that to change. So here's the first chapter re-visited and re-born and it shouldn't be long for the second chapter if I take it slow so be on the lookout fellow lovers who support this story :3 this for you guys . ~Sasusakui


	2. Chapter 2

One year later and Naruto was Hokage.

He had waited for a long time for this to finally happen, for his opportunity to finally come his way, and he would be able to throw his weight around without having anyone question him about it. It was no question over what the reaction of Rookie Twelve would be, they would pity him because they would see that his heart and mind is still stuck in the past and that it was clouding his judgement. They would tell him to leave Sakura's death as it was because no one else wanted to be bothered with opening up that painful wound again-they wouldn't necessarily say that directly, but indirectly that's what it would ultimately trickle down to, so he would do something else under the noses of those around him, so he wouldn't be pitied.

:::

The messenger hawk was sent back towards Konoha and there was a subtle smirk on Uchiha Sasuke's face. Finally the day had arrived where he would lea ve Ame and its inhabitants whose shinobi had a habit of wearing their strange looking masks. A year's worth of pent up and bottled curiosity and blood lust had the raven-haired male itching to start trekking back to his once beloved homeland and he would prepare to leave tonight and get an early start in the morning. He wasn't sure how many of Rookie Twelve would be against his coming back, most likely all of them considering what he has done, but he was assured by Naruto that he would pacify them with methods unknown.

As Sasuke pondered his return to the Fire Country, it rained heavily outside. If he had gotten word of this sooner, he would've started heading East already and towards the borderlands of the place until he got official word that he was safe to travel back into the Fire Country. He was in no way intimidated by those that would immediately seek after his head should any word come about that he was back, but he was wanted for many different reasons in many different places other than in the Land of Fire. Word would get around, alliances would be heavily strained, and a possible war that he would not participate in would ensue. He didn't want to get caught up in one either, nor would he like to use excessive amounts of chakra trying to fend himself off from an entire army of shinobi. He was strong, but he couldn't complete the impossible and he knew eventually that an army of well trained shinobi would wear him down.

It was a risk for him and Naruto, and a part of him hoped the blonde knew what he was doing. A lot of drawback could occur, and the Uchiha would not be there to pull him out. He was sure Naruto knew that already and also knew that this whole thing would not magically repair their bond. Although the Uchiha was sure that just as he was using him for means of entertainment and a possible good fight, the blonde was using him to achieve the vengeance he would no doubt obtain. The idea of being manipulated didn't ideally sit well with him, but what he was about to do would serve both of their means. In a way he was almost amused that Sakura's death seemed to had changed Naruto into a person that was more...relatable, but the outcome of that was no surprise. He was colder, and meaner, less tolerable of certain things that Sasuke would say that would cause an iciness to overlay the blonde's words that even had the Uchiha himself shivering. It was almost a breath of fresh air. Finally Naruto would realize that not everything was all bright and shiny optimism, and that the real world looked a little something like this.

:::

A meeting ensued between two long-time friends whom had finally met again, except under much bleaker circumstances.

Naruto had just arrived in Suna not too long after nightfall and noticed how the gates of the place stood erect and virtually surrounded the entire circumference of the whole village itself. The walls were high up, and even on top of that were scrolls and more scrolls of barbed wire that would surely snag and entrap any shinobi trying to go over it. Then again, who could climb it without being spotted because of the sheer height they were scaling? The blonde wasn't too sure if the Kazekage of Suna was trying to keep his civilians in, or something else out. What ever the matter going on with the extra security surrounding Suna, was not Naruto's main concern.

The blonde was accompanied by two out of his six advisers. They hardly gave him a difficult time when it was time for him to make decisions, but that was only because they were wary of him. They probably wondered when he would go insane, like he was a ticking time bomb ready to explode at any minute. Nevertheless, all of his advisers were loyal to no one else but him, and none of them could overlook the sacrifices he's made over the years for the same village so many people had lived and died for.

After they had gone through customs, Naruto could do nothing but remember the conversation between him and Gaara that seemed to echo a clue into Sakura's passing. What they spoke on was highly classified, and not even the Kazekage's advisers knew anything on the subject, the same went for Naruto's. It was agreed between the two leaders that what they spoke on wouldn't leave the room in fear of chaos or mistrust ensuing soon after. The blonde didn't have a hard time pacifying his circle by feeding them bullshit going along the lines of, 'It's for the good of the village', but he wondered if Gaara fared the same. He figured he would ask when he saw him, for now the trek all the way to his office would be troublesome for his Hokage robes that weren't meant to withstand the cool winds of the desert.

"Hokage-sama," addressed Kakashi.

Although both Kakashi and Neji were there as Naruto's advisers, they were also there as his protectors, but now that they've arrived on allied lands they walked loosely amongst each other-far away enough to give each other space and time to think. Naruto was the furthest a head of them and the silver-haired man wanted to speak with him about an important matter. It was no secret that not all of those sitting at the board of advisers for Naruto did not fully trust him.

Once the silver-haired man figured he had Naruto's attention, he continued in a hushed tone, "The aura of this place is oppressive, to say the least"

Naruto understood what he meant by those words. The civillans that lived in Suna were living in fear, by what, he didn't know. But there had been rumors going on over the lands, and he's only been receiving crumbs so far. If he really wanted to find out what was going on then he would, but there were bigger things he had to worry about, a certain person he had to avenge before he did anything else. Until he did that, nothing could keep his attention for long.

"Villages are taking this _beast_ thing very seriously, I suppose" Naruto responded.

"And we shouldn't?"

A slight noise could be heard from the back of Naruto's throat, a key sign that he was amused. "The only _beasts_ we know of that exist are the tailed ones, and as far as we're concerned, they pose no threat to us anymore"

Kakashi considered it best not to argue. Although the rumor itself did sound a bit far-fetched and exaggerated, the multiple deaths didn't lie, especially since once investigated, the source didn't leave behind any amount of chakra. The sheer power of this thing was something to be wary of, and who knows, maybe it was some forbidden jutsu the source is using so that his/her chakra isn't left behind. Either way, the killings were indiscriminate and sometimes ranged from an infant all the way up to an elderly, and everything else in between. An increase in animal deaths have also been known to be a sign that the beast was going to attack as well. The silver-haired man hadn't heard of anything like this in all of his years, and he heard some things that would make anyone question their sanity, but something like this was hardly believable if the deaths themselves weren't enough. If the many things him and his team seven have faced, he would've at least thought Naruto would give something like this a small thought of consideration.

The three of them finally got to their destination, and was escorted up the many flights of hardened steps made of sand up to Gaara's office, where they waited for a short while until they were called in.

"Well we're here, and I still don't know what made you go through the trouble of travelling all the way here" Neji murmured quietly.

Naruto regarded him for a moment with nonchalant eyes, after a long time of knowing the Hyuuga he could honestly say he didn't care for the man. Maybe at one point in time he may have regarded him a friend, but now all he seemed like was kind of a nuisance. Out of all his advisers, he was the only one that seemed to question his motives more than the others, and also seemed to have a hint of mistrust surrounding him. He was the one Naruto had to be more than a little careful around if he wanted to achieve his actual goal.

"I have matters to discuss with Gaara, if you must know," Naruto said with a quick tongue, "Suna is in the state its in because of paranoid people that have nothing better else to do than to fear the unknown. It is believed that the recent attacks have something to do with this place so as an ally of theirs it's up to us to quell those rumors"

Neji crossed his arms, not really buying the story. "Konoha is not the only ally Suna has, and it's apparent that even those other allies will not step in to help. Why should it be us?"

Gaara interrupted them all by calling out to them. Shukaku is the reason he could hear every word that was transpired between the Hokage of the Leaf and his advisers, and he knew it was wrong of him to listen in on their conversation, but he was relieved when Naruto confirmed that he didn't believe what was being said about his village. It made the red-head trust him all the more. Soon Naruto walked in without the company of his two advisers, and the two didn't even greet each other before Naruto began the hand signs for a highly complicated jutsu that only served one purpose: complete and total discrepancy.

:::

Sasuke arrived at Konoha gates around mid-day the following night Naruto set out for Suna with two of his advisers, leaving the bulk of Konoha in Ino's hands. When Naruto wasn't away, she overlooked the main hospital, while its separate counter-parts were seen over by Shizune. She drove herself to become more or less a legend in order to pick up where her best-friend left off. Tsunade did not pass on her monstrous strength to the young woman, but she did give some amount of her precise and excellent healing, however, the seal was something Tsunade would not give to another-saying that legacy died with her student.

As soon as officials spotted Sasuke at the Leaf gate, he was immediately surrounded and taken into custody, giving the Leaf officials everything they wanted-his katana, half of his chakra, and any other weapons he had on him. The only thing that was not taken from him, was any kind of information. He was brought to Ino, who would hold him until their Hokage returned from Suna, and that's when the interrogation started.

It was awkward seeing her again. Aside from continuously rivaling with Sakura, he could honestly say he didn't really know the blonde, but he could tell a key part of her was different from when he last saw her. Grief did that to people. Here this once annoying and vaguely cocky female sat transformed in front of him, her once long blonde locks now cut just below her chin and giving her a no nonsense look. She still appeared young as she usually did, but her sorrow aged her within and Sasuke could tell just by glancing at her blue eyes. Her white lab coat sat well against her skin and her legs were exposed thanks to the tight, black skirt she wore underneath. Despite her attire, Sasuke could almost take her seriously.

"What are you doing here?" she asked simply.

He smirked, "I don't have to answer to you"

Her eyes almost seemed to lose their interest at the sight of him, it made him bristle. "I suppose you don't think so, but there is no other option"

"The only person I'll willingly speak to is Naruto" he retorted.

She crossed her arms and scoffed, shaking her head a little as she did so. "Well you're out of luck...Hokage-sama is not here"

"_Hokage-sama_" Sasuke repeated, "that's one thing I didn't foresee"

He watched as strong emotion rolled through her body like a wound up coil, and then exit out her nostrils in the form of submission. The Uchiha didn't think the Land of Fire would more or less be ruled with more of an iron fist rather than a free-spirit. He saw it in the way she flinched at the mention of his name. Interesting.

"And what else didn't you foresee?" she inquired with a look in her eye that Sasuke couldn't quite decipher.

Crystal blue eyes assessed the slight discomfort written on the Uchiha's facial expression, she was most likely searching for something within him that she would never find-something that not even Sasuke himself would find.

"The survival of this village, I suppose" he muttered quietly.

Her eyebrows rose and for a moment a silence settled over them in her small, yet highly immaculate hospital office. The colors ranged from white, light blue, and navy blue and the antiseptic smell almost made the Uchiha sick. Her office itself was hardly decorated as well. If anyone were to take her position she wouldn't have to gather her belongings in a box, it would only be the singular picture frame she had sitting on the desk-it was starting to peak his interest the more he stared at the back of it.

If his arms weren't bound by chakra, his weapons confiscated, and his chakra depleted, he was sure this conversation wouldn't have even come up between them, but before he knew it he found himself being if not completely honest, at least choosing not to lie when he spoke to her. It was something about her that just prohibited his lies and smoke screens...something...

"The village?" she questioned, in reference to what he previously said.

He was silent for a moment before he spoke again, "Eventually this place will implode...it's best to leave it now, before you get caught within it," he glanced at her aged eyes again, "maybe you already have"

Ever so slightly, her eyebrows drew together in question, but all on her own she seemed to figure it out-a look of realization coming across her face. "Self-preservation is a human trait. The flight or fight term that's applied to those who would rather choose flight to avoid pain, emotional torment..."

She recited those words as if she were reading it from a textbook instead of actually living through the experience.

"You all lose one person and it seems as though rookie twelve has fallen apart," he made a flipping gesture with his fingers, "it seems as though everyone's personalities has changed in one way or another. Those wills of fire that we were taught to discover on our own have turned into something sinister haven't they?"

Blue eyes narrowed at him, "That's enough"

But he was just getting started, "Reality doesn't seem so bright does it? Once you're plucked out of the clouds and finally see the world for what it really is...it terrifies you, but not because of your general shock of it all but because of the fact that you've been deliberately turning away from it. Too afraid to look"

"I know what you're doing.." she whispered harshly, fury streaking across her eyes like a bolt of lightening, "the change bothers you doesn't it? The truth is that the ruthless, bloodthirsty Sasuke Uchiha has a soft spot for his home and everyone in it. You wanted this place to stay the same...peaceful and warm, loving. But that's what death does, what war does"

He grinned at her, "And I know what you're doing, Miss Doctor. Trying to fill in the shoes Sakura left behind aren't we? There's nothing better than the original"

"I could turn your brain into mush, if I so wish-

"And I don't doubt that," Sasuke said with a hint of a smirk, "but you won't. Why? I suppose there're multiple reasons, but the two most apparent are: out of obligation, and simply because you can't"

Her tightly pressed lips gave him all the permission to continue. She earned this from him the minute she attempted to psyche him. He wasn't a patient of her's, he was a trump card for Naruto, a wild card if that's what you wanted to call it, a free agent. The only reason he agreed to what Naruto asked of him was only to satisfy his blood lust as well as his curiosity, that was all. Other than those things, he had no other ties to the Leaf and it was about time certain people knew that already.

"Sakura left a bigger splash than me or Naruto ever could if this is what her death brings about. Suddenly things around here begin to feel real, and if it makes you feel any better it makes it more pleasant here, less phony really"

She scoffed, "You're a leech. It makes me want to know what you're really here for, if not to feed on all of us suffering as a whole"

"You'll know soon enough, but even before then I'll already be gone"

* * *

A/N: Hopefully it's apparent to all that I'm trying super hard in the development here. I wanted to re-vamp this whole thing and change a lot up, maybe even make it a little more thought provoking and psychological, or just random bullshit that makes no sense, either way, I want this to please my readers (this means you too anonymous folks!) and hopefully that's what I accomplish when this thing is complete :3 also keep in mind that these chapters I'm uploading are revisions. ~Sasusakui


	3. Chapter 3

Sasuke rested in his cell for about half-way into the night before a nameless Anbu, a tall male with choppy brunette hair behind a porcelain dog mask, came up to the bars to inform him that he's been summoned by the Hokage. He was expecting the exit to his cell to open so he would be escorted to Naruto, but the Anbu in his presence began multiple hand signs for a complicated jutsu. The question concerning what he was doing formed on his lips but before anything could come out he was suddenly standing in the center of the Hokage office with not just Naruto there, but six others as well.

The first thing Sasuke noticed was the different layout of the office, although much of it was still the same, various things were changed. First was the overall size of the room, what use to hold about eighteen people could now hold twice the amount. Second was the fact that there was not only the Hokage's seat in front of him but also adjoined desks that rounded all the way back behind him towards the exit of the office with only the Hokage's seat and desk sat at a height greater than the rest. If anything it made the Uchiha feel like he was on trial, which he pretty much was.

Four out of the six faces he saw sitting there, were familiar faces he hadn't seen in a long time. One he had already conversed with being Ino, who didn't look at him for longer than fifteen seconds, Kakashi, who just seemed bored at the fact that all of them had to be gathered, that arrogant Hyuuga male, who stared at him like he was some sort of plague, and lastly, Kiba, who was jotting something down on a piece of paper in front of him. Sasuke was surprised to say the least over the fact that the Inuzuka made it to such an important position, but he figured a lot of time _did_ pass since the last he saw of any of them.

The last two people seated were new to him, he had never seen them before, but the insignia branded onto their flesh on their biceps told him why. They were Anbu, and mask-less at that. One was female, with long purple hair (which Sasuke thought was unrealistic) and dark eyes, pretty face if Sasuke was really looking at her, and looked of possessing an intelligent mind, but looks could be deceiving. Her companion was male, with a weird side ponytail, nicely toned biceps and muscles, and seemed to have some sort of impressive skill if he even made it to Anbu, scars ranging from minuscule to noticeable told of the many battles he's face and survived, two red bands around his right arm, and dark blue eyes. They were both a silent pair, but the both of them were regarding him much how Neji was for reasons unknown to the Uchiha.

Sasuke stood in the middle of the room, practically at the center of attention yet none being bestowed on him at all considering they were talking quietly amongst each other. He had his hands in front of his body in plain sight, completely at their mercy with his chakra drained to non-existence once again, and they could do nothing but talk about meager things from what he could hear. They were either incredibly naive or they honestly don't care, though Sasuke didn't necessarily believe the ladder. Konoha was as much the same as it was different after all.

"Well," Naruto's commanding voice called the attention of all in the room making the chatter come to a halt as soon as he spoke, "I'll let the rest of you start first, and my opinion and decision will come last"

The room fell silent, everyone waiting for someone to take the opportunity to speak first and the person that did was expected.

"What do you want with this village?" the Hyuuga asked him.

It seemed that was the same question lingering on everyone's minds considering the Uchiha now had everyone's eyes on him, save for Naruto who already knew why he was there.

"Absolutely nothing," Sasuke stated simply, adding a shrug just for the hell of it, "it's quite presumptuous of you to think that the reason I'm here would solely be because I want something from this place don't cha think?"

He only smirked as the Hyuuga seemed to visibly bristle over in agitation. To be rebuffed by a traitor no less probably stung more of his ego than his overall attitude. Despite this however, Neji fell silent to let another speak.

"It's hard to believe that. When you were spotted, it was told to us that you were deliberately heading in this direction, a direction you have avoided in the past until now" Ino said, skewering him with her cold eyes.

Seemed she was still mad with him.

Sasuke smirked a little and leaned a little more on the heels of his feet, now starting to feel the effects of having such a large amount of his chakra taken from him: _fatigue_. "Well that's true. I planned to cross through Konoha instead of going around it, as it's too much to do that anymore, and this method happens to be faster going Yu"

"A small village in a border country," the female Anbu mused aloud, "And what's in Yu that you found important enough to go through Konoha? A place that you've pointed out many times to having no ties to and having these shinobi that were once your allies, now your enemies..?" she asked in a clear, even voice.

Sasuke didn't find any harm in giving them half-truths, so that's what he did, "Yu is less complicated than most places, let's just say that. They prefer to stay out of people's business" he said in a voice that left no room for any more questions on the subject.

The female seemed to mull over his response and gave the male to her right a chance to speak with the nod of her head. His deep, masculine voice was something Sasuke was not expecting.

"This is blasphemy," he said in a leveled tone, "the fact that he wasn't killed on the spot makes me consider why you, Naruto-sama, was chosen to be Hokage in the first place"

The Uchiha opened his mouth to give the man a snarky reply in his self-defense when Naruto spoke before he could open his mouth.

"Ridiculous as it may seem, Sasuke is here and we must deal with his arrival. I'm not surprised that you continue to question my authority over the Leaf as I still question why _you_ are on my board, but you are essential as a voice for Anbu, just as I am essential as a voice for everyone else," Naruto paused for a moment to see if Towa had any arguments, and continued when he had none, "besides. It would be foolish of me to send any amount of ninja to die"

"You're doubting the skill of our ninja?" Towa questioned with the raise of his eyebrows.

Naruto sighed, "Of course not. However, I do remember saying that I would not send _ninja_ to die, that doesn't involve the elite, as they are not ninja but another category all to themselves"

Towa wasn't yet defeated and something told Sasuke that the blonde would hear what he _really_ had to say in the next meeting they had, but in that moment in time he had nothing left to say. On the subject of this elite Naruto spoke on, Sasuke knew it was Anbu, but perhaps something different considering how many things have changed in the village. He could mean anything by that statement. The Uchiha knew it was no attempt on Naruto's part to try to intimidate him with such an open-ended statement, and he doubted it was meant to underestimate his abilities. So the mention of this _elite_, had his curiosity spurring among other subjects that were having the same effect on him at the time.

So far, it was only Kakashi and Kiba who hadn't asked or commented on anything the whole time and they unknowingly had the Uchiha's undivided attention. He was observing the two of them far more than anyone else in the room, his dark, onyx eyes glancing at every bland emotion that may have crossed their faces, but they were masters of whatever masks they were wearing and Sasuke couldn't see or find anything. If memory served him right, aside from Naruto, Kiba was the next person to have the biggest mouth and the most opinionated views and surely he was expecting Kakashi to say something as well considering that before he left he gave him this little spiel about vengeance not solving everything. Where had all that gone?

Naruto turned his attention to said men, also noticing as well that they were the only ones to not offer anything towards the discussion and chose to offer them an opportunity himself knowing they would never take it themselves.

"Kakashi, Kiba..." the blonde addressed, "it's not often you two are quiet during decisions like these"

The silver-haired man, who was previously just staring past Sasuke's head, perked up to his name being called and his actions being taken into question. His blatant honesty was no surprise to those around him as he shrugged, the mask that seemed permanently glued to his mouth area slipping a little as he spoke.

"This was bound to happen one day," he said without care, "those that swear off this village find their way back to it one way or another and not all the time do they stay for long. If he meant harm to this place he wouldn't have allowed himself to be stripped of all his possessions and reduced to such a vulnerable state. If he _really_ meant to just pass through this village to Yu then none of us would've noticed, maybe Naruto or Inuzuka with his extensive sense of smell, but none of us if he did not wish it" he then turned his attention to Sasuke, "You allowed yourself to be caught for reasons unknown"

The Uchiha could only grit his teeth behind tight lips as he returned Kakashi's stare, the man was too smart for his own good and he would have to be one of the people Sasuke would need to look out for, Neji as well considering he was suspicious of him, and maybe Kiba as well considering there was no way of knowing what angle he was playing at. and he found himself somewhat praising Naruto for picking Kakashi to be on his board, it was a good decision. However, it was because of that that it would be harder for himself and Naruto to continue to do what they were planning to. He could deny all he wanted, but with what Kakashi said now out in the open, it wouldn't matter.

Naruto took in what Kakashi said and turned his attention to Kiba, who still hadn't spoken. "Kiba?"

The Inuzuka hardly looked up, "I don't care..."

There was no hint of disrespect in his tone towards Naruto at all, but the response made the side of Sasuke's mouth twitched, the feeling was mutual now.

"This is hardly the decision making opportunity not to care," Towa said with a hint of agitation, "we're dealing with a _double s-ranked_ traitor here or shall I say criminal?" he said while giving said man a flippant gaze.

Kiba languidly turned his eyes onto the Anbu male, seeming agitated enough to give him a simple look that clearly pointed out his annoyance, but that's what the average joe would've seen. Sasuke, as well as Towa, saw something else entirely underneath the Inuzuka's chocolate. Something terrifying and nerve racking. A crawl threatened to go up the Uchiha's spine but he suppressed it, opting to just leaving the situation itself alone and not thinking about it any longer than he thought necessary. Unlike the old Naruto he knew of, he knew when something should be left alone.

Towa could only share in Kiba's intense gaze for only a moment before he subtly began to fall into submission, it was apparent in the way he inclined his head a bit in his direction. It was then that Sasuke wondered if he was the only one to feel such heavy animosity fill the room at that point, but what bothered him clearly did not bother the other occupants of the room.

Kiba continued as if nothing just transpired between him and Towa. He even went so far as to assume a laid-back position in his desk, one where he rested his head on his folded hands behind it, the languid and calm expression back on his face all over again, "I don't find this particular topic worth caring about. His life, does not particularly affect me directly and I agree with Hatake when he mentions the fact that he doesn't mean this village harm either, I trust you'll make the right decision in the mean time Hokage-sama"

Whether or not Naruto bore witness to the obvious show of superiority from one of his board members over another, Sasuke didn't know, but the blonde didn't seem too surprised with the Inuzuka's decision and he once again assumed his position of control over the meeting, gaining everyone's attention as soon as he opened his mouth to speak. It was time to confirm everyone's decisions and for once the proud Uchiha survivor did not feel as confident as he did when he was first summoned in.

"In order, you all will state either aye or nay on whether or not Sasuke's life shall be spared. Then you will state your reasoning for coming to that conclusion" Naruto spoke firmly.

This order, upon Sasuke's observation, was based on seating arrangement, and started with Kakashi who sat on the end to the left.

"I vote aye. I no longer have the mental capacity to hold another grudge on top of the ones I already have"

Neji scoffed, "Does this sudden revelation have anything to do with your attachment to your precious Team Seven?"

Kakashi sighed, "This is why I like you Hyuuga-san...you go for the jugular even when it's not necessary, as far as the answer to your question goes, here it is: if that was the case, then I would've broken every single rule I know of by killing Sasuke where he stands in honor of one of my most cherished students that I've ever had the privilege to know"

"I would be inclined to believe that statement if it weren't for your obvious favoritism of your other two students over her. Your thoughts of her was obvious to anyone that would see. You never thought she would grow to become a capable kunoichi and that showed" Neji retorted.

Sasuke watched with surprised eyes as the two went back and forth. This subject was quite touchy even for him. Sakura had only died a year ago and here Neji was opening his mouth about their team as if he was there that whole time right along with them. Naruto knew at the time, and so did Sasuke...they knew Sakura wasn't being taken seriously when it came time to train, and it was sad. It was sad because she had half the mind of knowing her own personality was getting in the way as well, but also the people around her. No one was taking her seriously, and most thought it would've been better if she had been raised to stay in her civilian life, but instead she discovered her talent for perfect chakra control.

Maybe if Sasuke had stayed in the village longer, than he would feel protective of the pinkette's name and honor, because after all he had heard things about her that sparked a reaction out of him. How she slew Sasori and his hundred puppets, even countless more during the small war that broke out between Takigakure at first, then subsequently Iwa considering they felt the need to supply the small village with a numerous amount of shinobi to honor their treaty with them. Like expected when Sasuke heard, Konoha trampled over them and the Hokage put whatever harsh feelings they had behind them considering the power differences between the two places an the war was over soon after. It was said the Sakura went up against jounin-ranked ninja and even their version of the Leaf's Anbu and came out victorious, but that war was not without its casualties and a good portion of Konoha's ninja fell that day as well.

A loud bang on Naruto's desk made Sasuke jolt out of his thoughts and back into the present. The slight rage going across his face was enough for the rest of his board members that weren't arguing to warily shift uncomfortably in their seats and his display of displeasure had the bickering Hyuuga stutter to a stop with his verbal assault on Kakashi.

"That is enough!" The blonde muttered with a hint of a growl, "you may have forgotten, but that is my past you are speaking of as well. For you to exploit such a sensitive time in our past..." Naruto trailed off in his sentence, no longer trusting himself to speak on that moment of time any longer than he felt necessary. His face turned to stone and he frowned, opening his mouth to warn Neji for the final time that day, "For what's good for you Neji, don't ever speak on that part of our history _ever_ again"

The Hyuuga was slightly taken back by his out burst. He was one of the main people to steer clear of an angry Hokage that also happened to hold the Kyuubi inside of them, but he never experienced being on the receiving end until then.

"I sincerely apologize Hokage-sama" he said with the low dip of his head.

Naruto neither accepted nor denied Hyuuga's apology, he simply ignored it.

The silence in the room made the atmosphere around them all grow heavy, especially after Naruto's displeasure was exposed for them all to see. Sasuke stood there awkwardly as the first signs of a crack on the Hokage's desk began to show, and it was then he knew the extent of how deep in grieving Naruto still was. Either everyone else knew the same and were sparing his feelings by not speaking on the fact, or they knew and were afraid of his explosive anger. The Uchiha had a hunch which one out of the two ruled out.

Noticing the state in which the atmosphere was in, Kakashi sighed once more and decided that it was his responsibility to continue on with the meeting since everyone else was wary enough of Naruto's anger, "...but that's all in the past now" he said aloud.

It was the Hyuuga's turn next and he cleared his throat before speaking, "Nay. We can at least hold him accountable for his actions whether he intends to harm Konoha or not. _He's here now_. This is our opportunity" he finished.

Sasuke would bet that the Hyuuga was referring to Sakura's killer. Naruto did tell him via messenger bird that a few did not agree with the Hokage's last wishes of the pinkette's death being un-avenged and the Hyuuga seemed to be one of those people. The Uchiha wondered when and where the male all of a sudden took a liking to the girl when he wasn't around.

What many didn't know, Neji had fought side by side with Sakura during the war. The area it took place in was heavily populated with trees making it hard for anyone to find comrades amongst the fray. It proved difficult even for a Byakugan wielder like himself and before he knew what was going on he found himself surrounded. He didn't doubt his own abilities but going up against a group of jounin ranked shinobi with no other comrades in sight around was incredibly risky. He meant to give it his all that night, preparing himself mentally that he may suffer some grievous wound he will never recover from, and die right there with a slim possibility of anyone finding him. He was ready for it all until half of the men standing in front of him were wiped away, and her noticeable pink hair was flashing before his eyes.

Neji felt insulted when her death seemed to overshadow the multiple deaths on the battle field, but he was even more insulted when he realized no one would be going after the person that killed her, while the people who were killed in the war were already avenged. A life for a life. Yet her's for some reason did not hold that same value.

Naruto paused for a moment, really letting Neji's words sink in before nodding his head and looking towards Kiba.

"My vote is void, invalid if you want to give it another name. Yugao-san shall vote for me" he said nodding his head in the direction of the female.

Her dark eyes flicked over to him at the mention of her now having two votes instead of one then her eyes ventured to the only other female on the board, who was sitting to Naruto's left, as it was now her turn to vote. The blonde female almost had a sinister look in her eye and she had a feeling what her vote would be.

"He tried to destroy this place once, kill Sakura too, as well as Hokage-sama once upon a time. I'm sick of his actions against our home and him getting away with it," she paused momentarily before tilting her head to the side in thought, "my vote is aye, but I just want to suggest that lethal injection be permitted instead of anything crude" her eyes then swam to the almost blanched look on the Uchiha's face, "you were our dearest friend once, and I once liked you so..." she smiled slightly.

From slightly white in the face quickly turned into a heated red. _Bitch_.

"There's no need to taunt him Ino," Naruto murmured, "the predicament he's in at the moment already seems bleak enough"

The most unauthentic smile Sasuke has ever seen was plastered on the woman's face then, "My apologies Hokage-sama"

It was apparent that she didn't mean it, but she had said it all the same. As long as respect was shown to Naruto no one had to see the ugly side of him that some already got the misfortune of meeting. Next was Towa, who still seemed wary of Kiba even though the man had long stopped paying attention to him.

"I vote aye. I agree with Hyuuga when he says he needs to adhere to his actions against the village. He's a _traitor_, and one of the most notorious so far that we have to worry about. He must be made into an example for the future traitors to this village that feel the need to follow in his footsteps" he stated firmly, "as for Yamanaka-san's suggestion of something less crude, I disagree. The best lesson, is the one that makes you fear the outcome, in which this case, points to an executioner. We have two that haven't been used since Orochimaru's beheading, it's about time we break them out again"

That was one nay, one void, and now two aye's. Sasuke now had to rely on the female Anbu, whom he didn't know, on the subject of his life. Going against all of Konoha (because he wasn't just going to lay down and accept his death) would virtually be suicide. He could proudly say the Leaf would lose a handful of numbers because of him, but Konoha's shinobi army is massive, and his chakra reserves are no where near Naruto's. Yes he could do damage and plenty of it, it just came at a price, and that price was swift chakra depletion. There would be no way for him to take on a full frontal attack from the whole village and not have time to rest to regenerate his strength, it was impossible, and he would die beforehand. He hoped Naruto knew what he was doing, he didn't come back to Konoha to get killed now, but he did think it would be ironic if that happened considering his reasons for coming back at all were less than worthy.

As the vote came down to the woman sitting on the far end to Naruto's left, those that voted nay seemed to be on the edge of their seats. The Hyuuga of course was as cool and collected as he usually was, but Ino and Towa seemed eager for Sasuke's head to roll one way or another. Inuzuka and Kakashi were just as passive as the first they appeared, and Naruto claimed his authoritative aura well. His vote was absolutely last and would be the tie breaker should the Anbu woman vote in Sasuke's favor.

"I vote nay" she said almost quietly, "for myself as well as for Inuzuka-san"

The result of her answer had a frown marring the Hyuuga's face, Ino putting both hands to her forehead and staring down at the desk in front of her, and Towa groaning aloud in frustration. The votes were officially tied, which left it up to the Hokage to decided what to do, although he had the power to void all of the nay-sayers if he so wished, he more often than not didn't abuse that power.

"What everyone here today said was true and I agree faintly with what was said, but I do not believe he cannot find redemption"

Neji could roll his eyes if it weren't for him being mature, "Redemption. That's only reserved for those that truly deserve it"

"And why does he not deserve redemption? Are his actions more severe than Orochimaru's? Or perhaps Kabuto? Or the leader of the Akatsuki who actually came closer to destroying this village than the Uchiha did? How should we weigh his actions against the others?"

When she didn't get a response from him she shook her head a little and continued, "I do not wish to argue with you, or seek an enemy out of you, but your high opinions of the boy only satisfies your taste for vengeance. I guess any kind would do these days"

The Hyuuga narrowed his eyes at her but didn't say anything more.

"However, do not mistake my decision for sparing his life to mean that I don't think his blood should be spilled in any way," she stated in a darkened tone, "the only reason why I considered his life was because of his usefulness. Like Hatake-san said, it would simply be a waste. And Konoha could use him to his fullest"

Towa looked at the female and shook his head, recently recalling her just as recent words on the term of vengeance. "Your hypocrite words astound me Yugao"

"Well," she said simply, "my feelings for the boy are split. I am human after all. Redemption for the traitor is not impossible, but I wouldn't mind seeing his head lopped off for everyone to see. I just lean more towards his worthiness in abilities"

Sasuke realized then and there that everyone sitting in front of him were wolves in sheep's clothing. The vote on his life was talked about as if it were something as trivial as deciding whether or not the village should have a festival. It didn't strike any fear or wariness in him, but it did make him a bit uneasy. The change in them all was a bit unsettling to say the least.

Naruto paused for a little while before it was time for him to speak up and cast the last vote, really the only vote that would matter. It took him awhile before he actually started speaking, but when he did it was in a voice that surprised them all. Mostly because it hinted towards guilt, but no one could really be sure when it came to their favorite blonde. He was no longer the open book they once knew.

"I owe you my life many times over," he began, "but as far as anything else goes. I don't owe you a thing"

The blonde was speaking directly to Sasuke as if his advisers weren't even there sitting with them. As far as Naruto was concerned, him and the Uchiha were the only ones in the room.

"I feel like I should warn you now of the changes this place has undergone, and the people with it. The civilians are wary because of outside murders, and the shinobi will no longer tolerate your antics. Most still don't forgive you after all you've done. And it's for that reason that I feel like I should make you part of Anbu"

Towa's mouth lightly fell open in shock as he stared at Naruto, "You can't be serious!"

The blonde's anger was now starting to show. Constantly being questioned by the same people over and over again was starting to take its toll on Naruto's patience.

"When you become Hokage, I'll leave the important decisions to you, until then, your constant whining over my decisions are getting annoying" the blonde snapped.

The male Anbu shut his mouth, a bit peeved that he was reprimanded in front of everyone, but surely he wasn't the only one opposed to this decision! All he wanted to know was why. To be put into Anbu showed that the person in question was trusted immensely with the safety of the village and the people in it. It could be a burden at times because of the difficulty and the complexity of it all, but it was all worth it if you could come back home to the warmth of the village and life bustling in its streets. Towa considered the job to be an honor, and could only see that Naruto giving such a position to Sasuke was nothing short of a reward.

Unknowing to the Anbu male however, Sasuke was completely white in the face...pale to the bone. He knew exactly what Naruto meant to do if he was nominating him to be in such an elite organization he couldn't turn down. He would be branded just like the rest, a permanent affiliation with the Leaf he would never be able to rid himself of, which meant he was literally being hog-tied to the place he severed all ties with. Naruto left him no choice. Escape meant death for sure, and denial of such a position would mean incarceration for most likely his whole life. Either way, the Leaf would never be able to really be cleared from his system now, and it was all the Naruto's fault.

He'd expertly played the Uchiha after years of having Sasuke pull wool after wool over his eyes.

* * *

A/N: Well Sasuke is officially stuck in the village no matter what he does. The brand that all Anbu receive is common identity for Leaf village elite shinobi, which means any enemy of his will recognize who he is, where he is from, and who he's associated with. The secrecy to his persona would be blown out the water because everyone knows the story of the Uchiha. Naruto made sure that there would be no chance Sasuke could back out of the deal they made if and when he suddenly did, and the only way he was able to do that was through nominating him for an Anbu position. In this story, I pretty much made it like being drafted for the army. If you are, and try to back out of it, you go to jail, and if you do go then not only are you a citizen of that country but you're also labeled as someone who served for that country as well, no doubt earning you a larger profile next to another person who's just a simple civilian.

Hope you guys enjoyed this installment, I also hope it made sense. I should be working on the next installment soon, and hopefully it doesn't take me too long. ~Sasusakui


	4. Chapter 4

It would happen then and there in front of them all and Sasuke could do nothing but let what happened, happen. For once in his life he was actually really against what was in store for him, for example, if he was ever fighting against a formidable opponent the thought of death crossed his mind during the whole ordeal. If he did die then he would accept it, it was a calming thought to be plucked from this world where you had to constantly look over your shoulder for people that wished you harm. Though the very idea was slim, he often thought of being captured by the enemy, or his eyes being taken from him, and those outcomes were fine too, he didn't care. But he couldn't suppress the shudder going through him as two hands were put on both sides of his shoulders and he was forcefully lowered down to his knees. Nothing made him more uncomfortable than the thought of not being free.

He didn't know whether he should be more shocked that Naruto played him right into the palm of his hand or that the blonde so effectively and brutally took away his option of leaving the village once and for all. It was at that moment that Sasuke decided that he hated Naruto, but he was surprised that he would resort to something so underhanded. It was a method Sasuke himself would use should the need arise.

The two Anbu soldiers that suddenly appeared looked to Naruto for guidance, asking silently where the brand should go on the Uchiha's body. Blue eyes glanced at both of them before turning their sights on Sasuke. Usually he would take it upon himself to make the final decision on where the brand should go according to that person's personality and a lot of thought went behind it.

"Where would you like your mark Sasuke?" He flat out asked him.

The Uchiha narrowed his eyes at him, words of venom on the tip of his tongue ready to be fired at a moment's notice, but he reigned it in, opting to remain silent and cold instead. Naruto nodded as if Sasuke responded to his question and stood from his seat, walking over to a third Anbu soldier Sasuke hadn't seen until he turned his head and looked. He stood as still as a statue next to the exit of the Hokage office with a long iron branding pole in his hands, the Anbu insignia glowing white hot with hellish heat.

He thought of making a last attempt effort to escape. This whole thing was no longer worth what it seemed to be, and more often than not these days, Sasuke's curiosity and blood lust was getting him into trouble. Now more so than ever. Would he just lay back and let this be imposed on him? Would he seriously let Naruto back him into a corner?

Sasuke let his head hang slightly as the air hit his now bare chest and back. His trademark open white shirt was torn away from him and his flesh was bared to Naruto as the blonde scanned the open canvas for where the mark should go. There would be no rebellion this time. Although it would make him surge with pride over the idea of him somehow fighting his way out of Konoha, but such a thing was nonsense. He could hardly summon a fire ball or even chidori with more than half of his chakra stripped from him, and even if he was at full strength he would not walk out of there unscathed. The possibility of him even surviving any kind of attacks from everyone in the room at the same time were very low and he couldn't take a chance like that. At the very least, any kind of attempt at escape would probably get him thrown in jail, but the world outside of Konoha would not be so kind and his death would come swift and keen—maybe not even that.

Sasuke hissed sharply as the smoldering piece of iron was planted firmly on the base of his neck where Orochimaru's cursed mark use to be. He would say it was ironic if it wasn't for the small tears gathering at the corner of his tightly clenched eyes. A small prick of invasive chakra wedged itself into his network and the pain almost increased tenfold. He planned to make sure no one in the room heard a peep out of him, but this was something unexpected. This would be the final nail in the coffin to his freedom—Naruto's chakra embedding itself into his system through the brand. If he was ever approached by an enemy, especially a sensory type, they will not only sense his chakra, but Naruto's as well. There was no one perhaps in the ninja world that didn't know Naruto's name, title, and affiliation. The connection would be immediate and damning.

After pumping a noticeable amount of himself into Sasuke (_**definitely**_ no pun intended here), Naruto retrieved the pole away from the Uchiha's flesh and handed it the Anbu male that had it in his possession beforehand. The blonde didn't fail to grimace slightly at the flesh still slightly glued to the instrument and thought that the tradition of someone getting branded into the organization was nothing short of barbaric. The process was older than him and he wouldn't offend the older soldiers of Anbu who went through the painful experience by eliminating the chance of the new soldiers of the same thing. His eyes flickered over to Ino and she quickly made her way towards him to look at Sasuke's new mark to make sure all was well.

It took her all of five seconds to assess the damage, not entirely surprised that the Uchiha's skin was taking the abrasive damage to it well and she crossed her arms seemingly unimpressed.

"He'll live if that's what you're worried about," she said with heavy sarcasm.

Naruto took in the sight of her. The rigidness in her posture, the way her crystal blue eyes narrowed ever so slightly at both him and Sasuke, and the way her right foot tapped on the wooden floors. She would never voice it herself, but her body language explained to the blonde male just how much she abhorred this decision. After all she was one of the people to vote for his death, or at the very least exile. He sighed momentarily, causing her to look his way in case she upset him in any way, and just for a moment she seemed wary of him.

"Please just tell me if it will mar up his skin in an unpleasant way or not, if so, this needs to be cleared away and he needs to be branded again" Naruto drawled heavily, exhaustion quite clear in his tone, "I'm honestly growing tired of everyone and their strong opinions. Why does no one realize that this is as much as a punishment as it is a reward?"

What was once a full room brimming with animosity and grunts of frustration turned into silence and heavily satisfied acceptance of what was to come. Naruto inwardly distressed that if it was this hard to force feed the idea of having Sasuke permanently stationed in Konoha then he could only imagine how bad it would be for the rest of the shinobi to take it. He would have a lot of talking to do and he would start with the ones who would react irrationally of this before anyone else.

He was making a mental list of all who he should summon to his office before Ino interrupted his train of thought, "It won't scar him improperly no. However this one in particular will be sore for at least a month because you forcefully injected your chakra into it", she looked at Sasuke for a moment, not caring that he wasn't back at her, "if you try to touch or remove this mark in any way then it will burn you. This chakra is foreign to your body, so trying to get rid of it with any kind of jutsu using your personal chakra will confuse your network and lock it up"

When the Uchiha didn't respond to her immediately she looked at her Hokage then and the blonde shook his head, she had fulfilled her purpose of explaining to him what would happen should he try to remove the brand that was given to him and that was about as much Naruto could ask of her—of anyone at the moment.

Sasuke felt woozy, tired as if the energy that was sustaining him was being drained from him before he could naturally produce more and before he even knew what was happening he was out cold, falling limp in the hands of the two Anbu soldiers that were surprised to find the Uchiha suddenly falling face forward onto the floor.

Naruto shot Ino an accusatory glare and she held her hands up in defense, "The side effects to what you've just done is different for everyone since not everyone's network is the same. His must be to faint to balance out what was put into his body. The curse Orochimaru forced onto him years back may have had the same outcome"

The blonde sighed once more, feeling older than he really was when really he was only twenty-two. He knew this was only the scrape of things and that it would only get harder as years went by. He turned to address the Anbu soldiers trying to shake the Uchiha awake to no avail and his sudden attention made them go erect in posture, patiently awaiting whatever order he had to give them.

"Take him to the Uchiha grounds," Naruto said with the wave of his hand, "he'll at least thank me for that..."

* * *

A young girl, Kimeko Higara, stood wide-eyed in front of something someone her age should never be exposed to. The doll she was caring was clutched in a death-like grip in her small palms, and she stood there in front of the scene bared to her in warning. The snow still falling plentiful around her did not help with the entourage of color splattered across it, and the chiming lullabies of other village children came back to the forefront of her mind as it only heightened her immediate fear of what exactly was hanging in multiple pieces along thick tree branches.

:::

Higara-chan was a beautiful child, blessed with sun-kissed blonde hair and green eyes, as well as a pretty personality to match. Her generosity, kind spirit, and slight naive attitude earned her a circle of friends, those the same age and older than herself. Her parents were also famed for their work as mercenaries. Even at the young brewing age of twelve she knew it wasn't the honest of occupations, but kept food on the table for their family. Most parents of this village were mercenaries and didn't specifically belong to any army like shinobi and work for the sole purpose of survival, which in Higara's opinion, made the dangerous job worth it.

It was no secret that among all the children in the village, she was the one more susceptible to tall tales that were invented for the sole purpose of scaring children such as her, so pranks and the like were all angled in her direction. She wasn't sure if what she was seeing was part of some elaborate one that one of her friends concocted, but surely what her eyes were taking in as a whole was real. There was no mistaking the awful stench even though the weather didn't permit the carcass to truly fester and deteriorate, rather the harsh winds of winter froze certain pieces of the animal while the other parts were turned a nasty black and blue.

There was no other explanation, no other lie she could blindly tell herself in attempt to overshadow what was right in front of her eyes. Her village had been marked.

* * *

Onyx eyes abruptly opened as they first met the vision of a pale, ivory ceiling above him. Heart pounding, Sasuke felt his surroundings and could tell that he was lying on a plush, low sitting futon that could also go for the modern bed. The sheets he was lying on were a dark, navy blue, a common color for his clan, and seeing it immediately made a stretch of pain cross his chest. Before his emotions really took a hold of him, he focused more on what state his body was coming to since Naruto figured it was best to infuse a bit of chakra with his own. It could mean bad news if his system rejected the foreign chakra circulating within it, it could even prevent him from easily summoning his bloodline limit. Only time would be able to tell whether or not he would be able to adapt, but for now he wouldn't be able to go on any kind of missions whatsoever until he figured it out. Which also probably meant regular and frequent visits with Ino who was now the head nurse of the village, a place and position more suited for Sakura.

Sasuke closed his eyes and sighed, he should've never came back to Konoha. Clearly everything surrounding his old home was broken, and he was commending the place for being real only to discover it was too real for his liking. Instead of an honest place it was crawling with manipulators, evil, and annoyance with a Hokage ruling over it with a liar's gleam in his eyes. In more ways than one, Konoha had reverted back to its state when it was once ruled by Hiruzen just under new management. Naruto could do what he wanted and people would let him because they feared the tyrant that was sure to be lurking somewhere within him (he didn't know whether he should feel miffed because that the blonde supposedly took his role in the village or that the people he use to know wouldn't view him in such a harsh light compared to Naruto).

A cold sweat broke out over Sasuke's forehead as a sense of familiarity invaded his entire being. It was an emotion he wasn't use to, and change didn't bode well with the Uchiha unless it benefited him in some way, so this emotion in particular alarmed him. His upper body shot up, his head of dark hair swiveling this way and that to pinpoint the source of his anxiety, until he found it. It was all around him. Everywhere. Nostalgia hit him with a force stronger than anything physical, and his eyes threatened to water. His heart sped up unnaturally and painfully beat against his rips so much that his hand automatically grabbed at the flesh right above his heart. Hyperventilating breaths came about at a fast rate, and he struggled mentally to calm himself down, now was not one of those times to have an episode, especially when he was running low on his meds. He had to get away, he had to leave the room he was in. It was near impossible to even look at the walls around him.

Everything was the same, as if no one had ever left it. As if the whole thing wasn't completely destroyed by order of Hiruzen. It was as if any moment his whole clan would return and start tidying up the place after a long and expensive trip somewhere else. He could almost feel his mind splitting in halves at the post traumatic trauma of it all.

:::

Making his way out of the newly rebuilt Uchiha Compound was easy to do with his eyes closed. Even after so many years of knowing that that place was forever destroyed and the land in which it was built upon was forever condemned, he still knew the grounds as if it had been around ever since. He needed an explanation for this, and he knew the only person that would do something so...troubling would be none other than Naruto, who thought that he could throw the weight of his title around like it was a sheet of paper. The Uchiha was positive that he was responsible, everything about him now screamed that he was trapped in his past, and Sasuke wouldn't be surprised if he was somehow apart of that. Naruto's reasons for it, no matter how twisted or honorable he may make it seem, would never amount to the value he wanted it to and it didn't really matter anyway considering that at Sasuke's expense, Naruto really couldn't care one way or the other.

His eyes opened for the first time once he knew he was officially out of the compound and immediately he was met with a two way street, as another compound was directly in front of his own and always has been: the Hyuuga Clan. Being one of the two major clans of Konoha, the two blood limits never got on well, especially when it came to the importance of the eyes. One always thought another was more efficient than the other. Sasuke was never one for politics and rivalries much like his clan was, and if he could remember correctly Itachi wasn't either. He could see the advantages on both sides honestly, he just couldn't tolerate the arrogance that came with power...however he never noticed just how well the air of arrogance and snobbishness well suited himself in an unattractive manner.

Speaking of the Hyuuga clan, Sasuke noticed someone standing in his path for the first time since he paused at the split ways. If he squinted, he could hardly make out the feminine curves and long, dark hair that went with the girl. She seemed to be idly standing there, and he shortly pondered why as her back continued to face him. Eerily, the situation he was presented with now reminded him of a scary play he once saw.

Her aura was familiar and her chakra reserves were exceptional for a female, that's when he deduced she must be the Hyuuga heiress, Hinata, and all accounts of creepiness bled away and memories of the annoyingly shy and fainting girl came to his mind. He considered her for a moment longer with a grimace before reprimanding himself for getting sidetracked and turned on his heel to leave, but by this moment she was already spinning around as if startled by his sudden presence.

Her soft gasp made him freeze and turn back around to look at her, where they met each other's gazes for the first time in a long time. Sasuke couldn't help but think that time had been kind to the young woman and that if anything heightened the beauty that seemed to exude from her. She was modest, wearing a plain pastel pink dress that brushed above her knees with short sleeves and a high neckline. Her dark hair was put up in a ponytail as well and the end of it swished along her lower back, surely he thought, it touched her waist by now. The air about her now as she faced him surprised Sasuke and slightly put him off. She had matured exceptionally, a look of recognition passing through her eyes as she gazed upon him freely and bowed lightly out of respect. He returned the bow gentlemanly and watched her every move, from the way her shoulders squared and her jaw set to a rigid yet calm position. She stood gracefully with her back straight and her chin slightly tilted up to show her position yet modestly kept it in a way that wasn't arrogant. The more he observed her, the more she intrigued him.

Despite the awkwardness he felt being in front of her, a bit put off by her stunning grace in the simple movements she made, there was a calm atmosphere surrounding them as neither disgust or wariness met her pale, opal eyes. If he was correct, he assumed she wondered why he was there or what he was doing, it was apparent in the way her eyes seemed to question his very existence.

Her rose colored lips parted and his eyebrows rose.

"There's suppose to be a full moon tonight," she spoke softly and evenly to him, casting a small gaze up at the pink and orange setting sky, "and here I cross paths with the most infamous..."_vigilante_" of the lands"

Sasuke was even more surprised as she started to make her way towards him with no ounce of self-preservation what so ever. As far as anyone has ever known him, no one approached him as openly and warmly as she did just then. He just didn't give off the right aura for one that could easily be approached. More or less he was intimidating.

He gave her a look and shoved his hands deep into his pockets, casting his famous brooding expression on his face, "That's an interesting name someone has thought to attach to me as of late. For a while it's been traitor"

His breath began to halt a little the closer she got, and the more she did the more he noticed small things about her that added to her overall appearance. Like the light, almost non-existent freckles lying over the bridge of her nose, or the bang going across her forehead and extending down either side of her face that framed it well, and the not too small fact that her breast have surely grown and were just barely able to escape his attention. Sasuke rolled his eyes at himself inwardly, he needed to focus, maybe he could get some information out of her since she seemed to be so open towards him.

"You know about him making something like this?" He gestured to the Uchiha compound just behind him, refusing to look at it himself.

Her eyes flicked from him to the elaborate, reformed, and beautiful Uchiha compound. She nodded and shot him a little rueful smile with the slight tilt of her head.

"He had it built last year," an emotion akin to pain and disappointment seemed to cross her eyes then, "he refused to tell anyone why and the only thing he said on the subject of the matter was that it was something he was doing more for himself than for the village"

The Uchiha's eyebrows scrunched together in confusion. What the hell did that mean? Screw what it meant, Sasuke wanted it gone. If he was going to keep him there against his will then he didn't want to be tormented by deceased faces of his past. Surely he didn't do it purely out of malice or hatred, but then again Sasuke could never be positive.

Her eyes fell solely on the Uchiha compound then and it seemed like she was burning hole after hole into every wall she met her gaze with, "Truthfully speaking, I believe every decision he makes now somehow ties to Sakura, how she may have wanted it to be or what she would've thought when faced with the outcome of his choices"

Sasuke blinked twice and the crazy, sociopathic side of him stifled the laughter that was threatening to break pass his lips, "Are you resentful?"

The look she gave him next was as if he had asked her to do something lewd for him, "Sakura and I are two different people, she had strengths that I didn't have, and vice-versa. I admire her"

Sasuke put up a hand in defense. He wasn't looking to pick a fight with the heiress, but riling her up a bit proved to be somewhat entertaining. His onyx eyes ventured to the pink and orange sky above him and a dissapointed sigh escaped his lips, looks like his fun was going to be cut shorter than he would've liked.

"I have to meet with Naruto," he paused, looking at her porcelain face one more time before he began to turn on his heel, "if we meet again, you should fill me in on the years I've missed"

Her silence was enough for him, as she didn't deny nor confirm his request, nor did he give her the chance to really answer as he took to the rooftops faster than she could open her mouth. It left her a bit miffed as she watched him go, wondering how Sasuke would fit back into their lives after all that had occurred.

* * *

Naruto was swamped.

Stress had turned his face into a permanent scowl, and annoyance had made his words sharp to a fine point. Rookie twelve could handle the new Naruto that was presented to them, most took his change in stride and understood where it stemmed from, people that didn't know him however couldn't handle the oppressive heat that came with his mouth.

Paperwork was practically overflowing from his desk and he had no interest in looking at them whatsoever, he had half the mind to send the daunting stack to Shikamaru's department but at first look half of it actually seemed important enough for his eyes alone. He pinched the bridge of his nose to try and ease the pressure building there and could only roll his eyes when Sasuke's chakra mixed with his own flared openly to announce his impending arrival. Knowing the brooding man, he was no doubt on his way to complain about something else Naruto didn't care about. He had bigger issues to deal with. Sketchy people sneaking through customs, this beast running rampant through the lands, Sakura's killer, alliances with other nations, the happiness of the whole village, making sure if any type of wars started then the evacuation routes were firmly in place, attending all Kage summits if possible, Sakura's killer, and last but not least, his Elite Anbu Corp that he was silently and subtly building under the nose of his board.

The bang on his Kage door made his head snap up from his paperwork and a crinkle appear above his nose in rage. It was easier these days to get him upset and for him to say things he never truly meant, but anger was something he didn't quite know how to reign in...at least not since Sakura's death changed him in many more ways than one.

The silent, masked, and immobile Anbu men standing on either side of his office door waited patiently and contently for his orders, immediately carrying them out as soon as the words left Naruto's lips to open the door. In a synchronized fashion, they both reached to their respective door handles and tugged them open, revealing a none too pleased Uchiha standing there, still wearing his open dark vest and dark baggy pants from earlier that day. From the look on his face, Naruto could tell that Sasuke was deeply troubled, besides the fact that his chakra was unnaturally wavering based on his emotions. He was usually more controlled than that with his feelings and showing them, but something he must've done set him off—really bad too. The old him—the old Naruto—would feel incredibly guilty, but the person he was molded into now felt nothing...

The frightening look on the Uchiha's face, the snarl threatening to break past the angry barrier he was putting on, the tightness of his gritted teeth, and his blanched face. If anything Naruto could feel the impending signs of a headache coming on.

"Explain yourself" Sasuke demanded.


	5. Chapter 5

Naruto blinked. Once. Twice. He was...befuddled. It wasn't the first time someone asked him to spurt out the reasons why he was doing something, or why he had done something, however, it was the first time he felt like he had to answer the question. When he had the Uchiha compound re-built, many villagers including his board, were against such a thing. It was akin to honoring a group of savages, people who threatened to shake the very foundation of Konoha by thinking they could run it on their own, and possibly turn everything into a dictatorship. The blonde thought it was just fear and speculation that led to such ideas, but he would force his civilians to understand that he thought the complete opposite.

And that led to him doing it anyway. He went against his village, against his own advisers, friends, teachers—even against his own self, so in a way, he was a traitor too, except he did so without shame. The village was appalled at him. Naruto of all people? The same blonde kid who we use to shun and now we idolize? That Naruto? That doesn't sound like him at all! But it is him. The "new" him—well, not exactly new, but smarter when it came to decisions and if that meant he would anger his people, make those around him distrust him, and make enemies fear him, then he would continue to assume that role and eventually he'll fully mold into it.

The blonde leaned back in his chair and folded his arms across his chest, staring hard into the Uchiha's angry face, "You'll have to be more specific than that. What exactly am I suppose to be explaining to you?"

Sasuke was a blur. He slammed both of his hands down on the desk in front of Naruto hard enough to make the wood itself creak and threaten to splinter in many different places. The two silent Anbu men standing at the entrance of the Hokage office looked up at the blonde, wordlessly asking permission to handle the unruly man. Naruto shook his head at them and watched as they both shielded their hidden weapons away from view once more. Blue eyes returned to the attention of Sasuke again and almost soundlessly he sighed and looked past the Uchiha with a gaze that clearly meant whatever Sasuke was angry about wasn't on his top list of priorities.

"You know exactly what I'm talking about," He said through gritted teeth, "what angle are you playing at?"

Naruto chuckled a bit, dousing the Uchiha's angry flames with pure oil, "I don't have an angle. The only angle anyone has here is you and we both know what that angle is"

"I'm beginning to regret my decision on not destroying this place once I had the chance years ago..." Sasuke said with narrowed eyes.

He was serious and Naruto knew this, but this one time in history, the blonde had the upper hand and effectively backed someone like him into a corner. Sasuke had no one else to blame and he ought to curse himself for underestimating him because that's exactly what Naruto was betting on. His own stupid pride would be his downfall one day.

"Until you can effectively crawl from under my thumb on your own, which I sincerely doubt, or until I release you from the deal we both made then you have no room to complain to me about anything" Naruto said while folding his hands, "You made the decision to come back here, you were the one that said yes to this, and I never assured you that things would be easy or the same when you got here"

Naruto watched as Sasuke's nostrils flared, his lip curl up in a snarl, and a vein in his neck show itself pulsating to the beat of anger within...all just to be whooshed away with a sort of defeat that seemed foreign to the Uchiha male. He had effectively chained Sasuke to his side and wasn't letting up on the length of the leash either, it was the dark haired male after all that permitted the colar to be put onto him.

"I'm not staying there," Sasuke whispered harshly, refusing to look at the monster sitting smug at his desk, "it seems asking you to demolish that monstrosity is too much, but you can't demand that I stay there specifically..."

Naruto wasn't above compromising. "Fine. You don't have to stay there, wherever you wish really, but only within the border surrounding the Hokage office, which is very expensive these days, so that means you'll be having missions often to support yourself"

Sasuke gave a faint nod, still refusing to look at him, yet somehow still managed to catch the object that was thrown at him. The Uchiha looked to see what it was and realized it was a ninja scroll. He forgot all about these. Other villages used different methods of transporting large and abundant items from place to place, and being away from Konoha for so long made him forget about the simple but highly effective object now in his possession.

"If I knew you would've detested living there so much, I probably would've set you up somewhere else the first time," Sasuke didn't miss the word _probably _in Naruto's sentence, "Kuro will show you the options you have to choose from tomorrow, but for tonight you can seek out any inns that are available. Courtesy from me, you can tell them that I will allow you to stay this night for free without charge"

As soon as Naruto spoke his name, Kuro, a Lieutenant on an Anbu squad, appeared in a puff of smoke in the middle of the room, kneeled down on his fist with his head bowed until he was addressed directly. Sasuke pinpointed his flare of chakra before he even came into the room, so his appearance was anticipated.

"Did you summon, Hokage-sama?"

Before Sasuke knew it himself, the blonde was already back to attacking the stacks of paperwork on his desk, "Yes. Tomorrow you will show Uchiha-san a certain amount of places to choose from to live, is that understood?"

"Of course," he answered swiftly and then just as fast, disappeared.

The Uchiha waited a few moments until he was absolutely sure that the Anbu male's chakra disappeared and then shoved his hands in his pockets lazily, giving Naruto a questionable expression.

"Uchiha-san?" He mimicked, "since when did you use my name so formally?"

Naruto dismissed the matter with the wave of his hand, his blue eyes still streaming across paper as he signed his signature on it, "Kuro has many talents as a shinobi and as an Anbu, but he's young and must be taught to respect those stronger than him and if he can, learn from that person. It'll increase his own ten-fold which in turn makes him more efficient on the tasks I give him"

If only the blonde knew what the Uchiha was going to say next, if so, he would've come up with a smart aleck remark that would make Sasuke regret stirring the hornet's nest that Naruto had become. However no one in this world was psychic.

"Hmmm," Sasuke clucked his tongue, "that sounds devious. Something I remember Sakura hating more than anything. She hated being deceived or used for any reason, and she especially hated it when it was forced upon unsuspecting people"

_Snap_.

The Uchiha didn't know if that sound came from Naruto's temperament growing out of control, or if it was the pencil that the blonde had in his hand up until now. His onyx eyes observed a flash of yellow flying across the room into oblivion and a part of him was satisfied that he got such a reaction out of him, but another dormant part was sure that he made a mistake because of that.

"Don't _you_ of all people open your mouth about _her_," his voice leaked out slightly hollowed and his eyes more blue than usual, "you weren't here to see her the way everyone else did—the way _I_ did! You wouldn't know her even if she were still alive and standing right in front of you"

Sasuke wouldn't back down, but the look on Naruto's face completely prevented him from going a lot further and deeper with his words, "And Kuro? What about him? You chastise me over mentioning Sakura and no concern or remorse fell from your lips over your loyal soldier and subordinate"

Naruto sighed heavily, "Kuro, as well as everyone else knows what they're getting into when it comes to me, I never leave that part out when they sign their lives over to me. He isn't unsuspecting because he already knows, so there's no deceiving involved"

"Maybe not to him, but your advisers—

"Don't tell me everything either, and they don't have to. There's only a select few that I trust on my board anyway, while the others are planning a coup"

This new piece of information clearly caught the Uchiha off guard, not that it was his intention, but he wanted to get his point across. His board may think of him as naïve and bitter because of the past, but he was by no means stupid. He had eyes everywhere, they just didn't know it.

"A coup," Sasuke repeated as he swiveled around to look at the two Anbu men still standing silently by the door, "shouldn't you be looking into it if you know about it already? Aren't you trying to avoid something like the _Uchiha massacre_ from happening again?!"

The blonde returned calm a few minutes ago. No more words were spoken about Sakura so he no longer had a reason to be as mad as before, now all of a sudden Sasuke couldn't get a grip.

"Calm down," Naruto said putting up a hand, "Something like that won't happen because I'm not backed into a corner on the matter, besides, the person that's planning the coup doesn't have their clan's backing. If anything, his clan, owes me a lot more than he thinks and that's why I think he's angry. Plus not everyone believes I run this place well, unfortunately for him he needs to get in line and take a number. I have bigger things to worry about"

Sasuke crossed his arms then, "Who is it?"

"I'm not naming any names, but sooner or later it should become obvious to you...or maybe not. Who knows."

After a couple moments of awkward silence, Naruto looked up from his desk and noticed that Sasuke had nothing left to say, probably thinking about what he was just told.

"Get out," he said flatly while making a shooing motion with his hand, "you've angered me enough for one night and now I have to look for another pencil or pen I can use. I was lucky enough to find that one today"

Miffed that he was told so rudely to leave, Sasuke turned his back on him, "Whatever" He said with a dismissive air about him.

Pride now in shambles, Sasuke knew he had to make a quick escape before he started to get violent just for the sake of it and he left Naruto to the silence of his two Anbu protectors and himself as the Uchiha walked through the door and didn't look back. But Naruto expected that.

* * *

_Damn him. Damn him. Damn him!_

All Sasuke could think about in terms of Naruto were violent, bloody thoughts. He already _knew_ he had no one else to blame but himself, he already _knew_ that this village was somewhat warped even before he got here, and he already _knew_ that he would find no allies here. The Uchiha knew this and yet still he found it completely ridiculous that he thought it was a good idea to return, finding out the place has turned into a prison, and the fact that every chance Naruto got he would rub it into his face that he was completely under his control and he could crush him at any point in time. Sasuke had dirt on the blonde too, but who in their right mind would believe him in this town? They may not trust Naruto but they all still love him.

There was nothing Sasuke could do now except to wait it all out, and if his sentence would be lessened the more he found out about Sakura's death then he would pour all of his concentration into it and find out what happened, how it happened, and who did it.

He just ventured out from the confines of the Hokage building to discover it was completely nightfall already. Naruto had curtains and lamps installed in that room, and preferred working under artificial light rather than moonlight, which made sense. Who the hell wanted to strain themselves trying to read their work when they hardly wanted to do it in the first place? Sasuke knew he wouldn't.

Besides all of that, he hadn't realized he stayed in the building for so long. To him it was just dusk a couple minutes ago. All around him he could see the lanterns lighting up the main road for the night shops that were going to open up for the next few hours, and the more established restaurants flipping their signs to open. Already there were multiple pleasant scents from all kinds of food wafting towards him as he stood there, and his stomach growled accordingly. When was the last time he ate? No matter. It was already decided, and he knew exactly where he wanted to go and what he wanted to eat.

Soon Sasuke found himself standing in front of a small, but slightly grandeur restaurant that served the best Udon in all of Fire Country. How this place served to still be remembered in his mind after so long of being away from Konoha...he chalked it up to the amazing food that was prepared exsquistely every time he went, it was also more expensive than most but it was well worth the money. In the past, Sasuke was a frequent customer and he wondered for a moment if the owner would remember him after all this time.

The smell beckoned him further inside, and he lifted his arm to kindly move the fabric flaps hanging in his way. From first glance, no one was really inside the place except for one person sitting near the exit in a corner. Sasuke paid no attention to that person and continued to his destination. Hopefully he could just get some takeout from here and be on his way, but there would be nothing he could do if the owner happened to spot him and start striking up an unnecessary conversation. For that man...Sasuke didn't have the heart to tell the guy to just give him his food so he could leave.

A man stood behind the high counter and saw Sasuke for the first time, stretching his neck up a little to reveal the bold black line encircling his throat. Sasuke knew he saw that mark from somewhere but couldn't remember where, all he knew was that it was really familiar and it would bother him all night if he didn't figure it out. It also wasn't the old man that was there either, but a fresh face to add to Sasuke's memory.

"What would you like?" The man asked plainly.

The Uchiha regarded him for a moment longer before remembering what he came there for, he wanted one thing and one thing only, "_Sanuki Udon_."

"Takeout?"

Sasuke nodded and the man he didn't recognize left promptly without saying a word. Hopefully it would be prepared the way he's always liked, but even if it wasn't he was too hungry to care. Sasuke also didn't mind the simpleness of the man's behavior either, it was quite refreshing to know that he would be able to get in and get out with his food on his way to whatever inn he happened to come across. He wasn't an offly picky person when it came to that, especially with his favorite food waiting warm for him to eat. Just the thought of it made his stomach yearn for it more and he couldn't stop his impatient index finger tapping on the wooden desk before him.

He paused however when a distant memory came rushing to his mind out of no where. All the way back into the past where he spent enjoyable times with his two teammates when they weren't being over-bearing and annoying. It was one afternoon when Sakura suddenly appeared at his side as he was eating, sitting on a high barstool inside of the Udon restaurant he was in presently. Back then it was more under developed, but now it had low sitting booths and tables that could hold more people. This was a time after she cut her hair and the ends were fringing slightly because her locks weren't use to such a length, in his honest opinion she needed it trimmed by someone who knew what they were doing.

His onyx eyes turned to narrow at her as she grabbed the seat adjacent to him and began ordering exactly what he had, which was his favorite Sanuki Udon. He didn't know why he felt so possessive over a dish like he was the only one that was fit to eat it, but at the time that's how he felt. Which added on more to his annoyance of her.

"I didn't know you like to eat here Sasuke-kun"

Her face was already warm with color, her infatuation with him was bled all the way into her cheeks and he couldn't be more put off by it.

"Yes, as you so brilliantly observed," he said gesturing to the whole place, "I like to eat here, seeing as I _am_ eating here"

Her love for him in his opinion made her stupid and it was sad because he knew she was a very smart and intellectual girl, but around him she couldn't seem to function properly and said all the wrong things.

His snarky remark didn't go unnoticed by the kind owner, who at the time cooked all the meals for his customers, much like the man who ran Ichiraku.

"It's bad luck to be rude to your girlfriend, Sasuke-kun" the comment prompted the young Uchiha to choke a little on his food, "women can be vengeful creatures" he said with a small shiver. He must've known from personal experience no doubt.

Sasuke had to clear his name, "She is not my girlfriend in any way, shape, or form. Just my teammate"

"Ohhhhh? You wouldn't happened to be Sakura-chan would you?" He asked her.

Sakura colored slightly since she was put in the spotlight, "Yes. How do you know me?"

The man chuckled heartily, "Everyone knows about you Sakura-chan. Your teammates include a prodigy and that funny blonde kid whose always getting into trouble with Iruka-san, who wouldn't know about you? Plus I believe apart from your father you're the only one with pink hair in this village" he said while putting her steaming bowl of Udon in front of her.

Sakura tugged a little on her short pink tresses at the mention of them, that was until she noticed something else that sparked her attention, "Say, are you by any chance part of the Beta branch of the Inuzuka?"

Sasuke's eyebrows furrowed a moment at her inquiry. Was he part of _what_ in the Inuzuka clan? At the time, it was his first time hearing about it, but being presented with the memory now Sasuke now knew.

The old man didn't miss a beat and was frankly surprised as caressed the bold black line wrapping around his throat, a sheepish smile grazing on his face, "You sure are observant Sakura, but to answer your question, yes I am. It's an honor to personally bond and cooperate with the Alpha branch"

Young Sasuke went back to the attendance of his Udon, but participated in the conversation nonetheless, "When did you start hanging out with Inuzuka, Sakura?"

"I haven't been Sasuke" Sakura retorted, a little miffed that he kind of spoke of them like a different race all together, "I've been reading up on all the major clans of this village"

Yep, that sounded like her. She was such a bookworm.

"Yes Sasuke-kun, while you're off worshipping your clan and all of their wonderful abilities whilst you train, little Sakura here has been educating her mind on everyone else in the world" the man added with a see-through smile.

The Uchiha narrowed his eyes at the man, "I don't worship them!"

"Of course you don't"

Sakura giggled a little to herself and Sasuke turned his anger onto her, "You're so annoying"

A now much older Sasuke stared a little off into space as the memory faded from him. That was so long ago it almost felt like a dream. The white takeout box sat in front of him finally brought him out of his stupor and he mentally licked his lips at the delightful smel—..._wait_. Unlike most people, he had a habit of smelling his food and checking his food before he ate it. After years of doing just that, he knew the smell of his favorite Udon like the back of his hand. What was in the takeout box smelled identical to what he expected, but another distinct smell ruined the overall scent.

Long fingers gently opened up the box to find the overall appearance to the dish completely the same as he remembered except the smell was not the same. He found his sharingan spinning to life and was disgusted.

_Dog food_.

Onyx eyes flashed accusingly to the man behind the desk and he found that same person staring back at him hard. There was no remorse there whatsoever as there shouldn't be with someone who had the conviction to think of regurgitated puppy chow in the first place.

Then it all clicked. Inuzuka owned restaurant, not just owned by the whole clan, but restrictly family owned and managed. The fact that the old man was gone and a younger man was now presented to him, it was logical to deduce that this had to be his son. Not to mention this part of the clan were mostly shinobi and had full knowledge of how he betrayed his home long ago, loyalty being one of their highest ways of life...how original.

Sasuke wouldn't get angry over this, although he was simmering over the wasted Udon, but it wasn't enough to rile him. If this was somewhere else however he would have that guy's head on a platter, but this wasn't somewhere else. This was the Leaf. He would be damned if he heard any words come out of Naruto's mouth over his behavior. He looked at his food one last time and grimaced before promptly throwing it in the trash and spinning on his heel, hands shoved into his pockets.

A noise pricked into his senses and he listened closely to the tapping of heels across the flooring. Out of the corner of his eye, Sasuke noticed long and dark hair. The vision was enough to make him turn around to get a better look at the owner of the pretty strands of hair and of course it was none other than the Hyuuga heiress. She had her hair down and just like he expected, it swished down to just above her waist. It was neatly trimmed and from the pleasant feminine scent wafting over to him, he could tell it was washed recently too. Her feet were graced with white heeled sandals and complimented well with her white dress that was decorated with black flowers. This dress didn't go any higher than her knees like before, but it was strapless and left most of her arms, shoulders, and chest open to the public eye.

Before the man at the counter even opened his mouth to say something to her she didn't give him the chance before heated words passed from her lips at a rapid pace that the man in front of her couldn't keep up with. He looked completely flustered, and his neck flamed up red as he put up both hands in defense. She said something else and he nodded his head profusely and left out of her sight quickly while the whole time she waited patiently with her arms crossed and impatiently tapping her foot. He came back fast with another identical takeout box in hand and immediately handed it to her, looking as if a hole swallowing him up at the moment would be heaven sent. Hinata snatched it from him and opened it up, quickly surveying it before turning on her heel and walking away in an angry huff.

Sasuke was speechless the whole time as she approached him with the takeout box in her hands, the smell of Sanuki Udon awaking his stomach out of its depression as soon as it hit his nose. He looked from her to the food and back again, until it dawned on him that this was the time that most normal people said thank you.

"You didn't have to do that"

At least he tried.

She shook her head furiously, not settling for the half-assed response from the Uchiha, "Yes I did. That was completely uncalled for, no one should be crying over spilt milk"

Her delicate hands brushed against his as she handed him the takeout, to which he nodded his head in thanks for.

"Come. I decided to treat myself once in awhile without the eyes of guards constantly breathing over my shoulders"

Sasuke frowned a little at the idea but followed her nonetheless to her table.

* * *

Naruto was sifting through his thoughts before a deep rumble within him made him raise an eyebrow in surprise.

"Kurama," He greeted outwardly, knowing that he was speaking aloud, "your visits are getting less frequent. This is the longest you've been away"

Another rumble. The blonde knew it to be laughter. "Oh? You missed me? Or are you just afraid of being left on your own?"

The world around Naruto bled completely black and the only thing that remained was himself inside of his Hokage robes, his feet drenched in tar mixed with water. In front of him was the familiar gold gates he hadn't seen in a long time, and behind those bars was Kurama in all of his red fur glory and blazing red eyes. He laid down on top of his paws and far into the blackened distance, his host could see his tails lazily swooshing about, just about four of them. He had no idea where the other five were.

"You keep forgetting I have abandonment issues," Naruto approached the gates languidly and soon sat cross-legged in front of them, his robes were completely drenched now, "where did you go this time?"

Kurama's teeth were bared as he spoke, his deep voice sending vibrations within the tar surrounding Naruto, "I met with the others about this new thing that has entered this world, it had started out as an egg when we were allowed to roam free, but..."

"An egg?" Naruto questioned.

Kurama blinked slowly for a moment and soon thought better of his actions, "Disperse that from your mind, I can't tell you anymore"

Naruto frowned, "You were content with telling me a moment ago..."

"That I was until I realized how foolish the humans around you are, mainly the ones you've settled with closely"

"Ah. I keep my board at a healthy bay from what I do"

"And because of that they distrust you" Kurama concluded.

The blonde paused for a moment. He couldn't deny that many of the same people he grew up with no longer trusted them, a lot of them he could no longer trust either, but he didn't have time to worry about something like that. There was too much for him to do. If he started walking on eggshells now just to spare everyone's feelings he would never be able to get anything done. They would just have to deal.

"This new behavior of yours not only strikes suspicion from those around you, but fear. It's different from what they're use to, but unlike I, complete understanding is impossible for them and you know well how humans are when they don't understand something"

Naruto nodded, he knew exactly what he was leading him to think about. Half-truths were a must from now on he surmised.

"I will not completely tell you what I've come to learn with the others, but I will tell you that there is some truth to what the no-tailed beast's host told you a while back. He just doesn't have the full story, and I will also warn you"

It was at this point that Kyuubi leaned his face extra close to the bars keeping him separated from Naruto. His rows of teeth glistened in the candle lit room and a bit of Naruto's reflection bounced off his canines. If he wasn't used to seeing such a sight he was sure he would be scared.

"Beware of the person that disguises himself in sheep's wool"

* * *

A/N: Hope you guys enjoyed! Leave a review to tell me how I did this time ~Sasusakui


	6. Chapter 6

The tinkering sounds of chopsticks hitting plates and various sounds of complimentary slurping filled Sasuke's ears as he occupied the other side of the dinner booth with Hinata. They hadn't sat down long enough for him to start eating yet, but she had got there before he did and her food was nearly halfway done. Surprisingly, she didn't shy from him when it came to her returning to feast on her food, rather, she continued on as if he wasn't there which in turn minorly made it awkward for him because this was a reaction he wasn't expecting. It was then he remembered his earlier request that day.

"So," he trailed off, "Konoha has changed vastly since the last I've stepped foot here...it's almost like a whole 'nother place altogether"

Her eyes met him for the first time since she began eating her food and she nodded at him, chewing her food completely before she spoke, "Indeed it has. Konoha is not the same place you once knew"

Sasuke could see that clearly, "And Rookie Eleven?"

Hinata gave him a look that he couldn't quite decifer and she took another bite of her food before responding to his question, "Well you didn't think we would all remain the same did you? That we would remain unchanged for this many years?"

"It would be foolish if I did" he told her.

"Hm" she slowly sat her chopsticks down and wiped her mouth with the napkin that laid across her lap, "in more ways than one I can tell you that everyone has underwent some amount of metamorphisis, some more than others, but if you want to know specifics then you would have to see for yourself"

Sasuke took what she said into account and nodded, knowing that what she really meant is that there are some things that aren't really her place to tell. She could only speak for herself and those that wouldn't care if Sasuke knew about certain things.

"Who would you like to know about first?" She asked while returning her attention back to her plate.

Sasuke decided to go for it, "Sakura"

Hinata halted mid-bite and her eyes trailed up to meet Sasuke's. She didn't seem surprised by his request, but she didn't seem expectant either. He almost wondered what she was thinking.

"Naruto will refuse me if I ask him, and the others...I haven't seen them for one and two they still get a bad taste in their mouths at the sight of me"

The side of the Hyuuga heiress' mouth quirked a little at the piece of info, but didn't comment on it. He surmised she had her own opinions about what people thought of him and what she herself thought of him as well.

"You should be more specific on what you would like to know about her," her eyes trailed away from his again, almost dismissively, "there's not much I can say but it's more than what you already know"

Sasuke waved the matter away with his hand, "Whatever you wish to share is fine"

"Very well," she nodded.

* * *

Naruto laid in his bed in his old apartment not too far far from the Hokage office. He knew from word of Kakashi that some of the villagers thought it was endearing to see their leader residing amongst them in an average living arrangement, while others believed it to be unorthodox and uncouth for someone of his title and leadership. To appease both sides, he also had another place built along the outskirts of Konoha, it was more grandeur and fitting for his status, but he didn't stay there often, unlike his old place that one didn't still hold Sakura's scent after two years of her passing.

His fan was blowing cool air in his face as his thoughts blew even more around him. Kurama's warning, ghosts of his past, unknown adversaries plotting his demise, and what he had to do as far as duities to his village. The coup that was being plotted against him was on the far back burner of his mind, and the rumors of the beast ravaging the lands even further still. Earlier that day before Sasuke got there, he had gotten more than two letters from different villages asking for aid with the supposed beast literally culling their citizens and ripping them to shreds and what not, terrible things described in detail that made even Naruto grimace at the sound of it all. But more importantly, these same villages that came to him in dire need could provide for him grim tales of death but not evidence that it was something unheard of that committed the deed. It could be a powerful, legendary ninja for all they knew but yet no chakra was left behind to display such inhumane strength. Power that wouldn't be possible for even a ninja to control nor use properly enough to get the results that came about. Naruto was sorry and skeptical, but he wouldn't send shinobi he would need in the future out to die without knowing the full situation. There were too many variables to account for, missing people to account for, and other strange things that didn't just pertain to the beast killings.

Until danger was knocking on his own door, or Suna's, or at the very least more information turns up about this so called beast, then he wouldn't send any kind of his shinobi out to help anyone. To hell with whatever treaties he may have had with their major country counterpart and to hell with their daimyo. Naruto would be firm, besides, their own daimyo was held tightly under the blonde's thumb anyway. Whatever he said went because he knew the daimyo feared him and the tailed monster that resided in him.

"Beware of he who disguises himself in sheep's clothing"

That had been going through Naruto's mind since he got home. What did it mean? His best guess of course pointed to someone close to him not being who they said they were, but just the phrase 'sheep's clothing' could mean another thing too. In terms of animals and monsters with nothing but primal instinct to go on, it may speak of a predator in its hunting ground unknown to the fellow sheep that believe their safe at home. If it were two years ago Naruto would be fearful of an opponent that he had no knowledge of, but now that he lost the person that he was the most fearful of losing nothing could be said about his wariness of someone being taken from him.

He tossed and turned, his mind going a mile a minute. He needed to speak with someone, not just anyone. but someone he could trust. Unfortunately Naruto couldn't just go to Suna on a whim because his position didn't allow it. Sabaku no Gaara had the same issue, and didn't often leave his sand village for many reasons. Both of their hands were tied, especially with rumors on the wind about Suna being involved with the beast attacks. How it stemmed all the way there, Naruto didn't know, There were so many unanswered questions that he was instinctively closing himself off to those around him because he was trying to think his way out of what was going on. Gaara was his friend, comrade, and confidant, and despite other major villages looking at him sideways because of his decision to stick by his allied nation, Naruto wouldn't abandon the red head because people were afraid of this phantom that left nothing behind it but pieces of human flesh.

He sighed at the oncoming argument half of his board would make at the fact that once again he would be making a trip to Suna.

* * *

Sasuke waited patiently for Hinata to finish eating before he expected her to tell him what he surmised would be a long story. She was in no hurry but she wasn't exactly picking around her food in a way that pointed to her dilly dallying around to buy time for whatever reason.

His ears perked up at the sound of her dish being pushed away from her and the chopsticks she used sitting with finality over the space of porcelain outlined with blue.

"About three years ago, five years after you had gone. Both Naruto and Sakura disappeared for two months, and no one had the slightest clue as to where they could've possibly gone, but when they returned they came back as completely different people, people you would never recognize..."

Sasuke frowned at this. They disappeared? Where did they go and what did they do in said place? How did no one know how to find them until they returned of their own will? He had more questions than the ones presented, but he would wait until Hinata was done to ask them. He was lucky she was even willing to sit down with him and recall these past events for him.

"Naruto became as he is now, and Sakura," she shook her head, "she became nothing short of an exemplary kunoichi, an Anbu lieutenant"

The Uchiha's blood ran just a bit colder at the mention of the title. His brother was a lieutenant, but all of that soon went down the drain when he was forced to kill everyone they've ever known. He had to shake himself out of his traumatic stress momentarily to look at the other shocking fact. Sakura being an Anbu lieutenant. Jounin was one thing. He figured she would get there by the skin of her teeth, but Anbu was another and lieutenant was something else entirely. He almost called the girl a liar to her face, but he had to think logically before he opened his mouth. He didn't want to set her off in any way considering she was his only outlet into the past, and besides that she had no reason to lie. It wasn't like she was trying to make him feel as if he missed out on the outstanding shinobi Sakura became while he wasn't around, that was something that would only make sense to do if it were Naruto or Kakashi, but if he was correct his old sensei wouldn't care to share in any memories of Sakura with him. Naruto, of course, was a closed book.

"So...she was branded as well" Sasuke stated.

Hinata nodded. "I didn't attend her coronation" Sasuke could definitely hear the snideness in that one, she may have said that she didn't feel intimidated by his deceased teammate, but something was there. He also had no idea why a small feeling of pride surged through him like a coral snake at the fact that the Hyuuga heiress, as haughty and dignified as she was, felt the slightest one-upped by his ex-teammate, "but Yamanaka-san was there and while attending, Tsunade made her head of the hospital considering Sakura could no longer fill that role. She had been training the both of them anyway so it only made since"

Sasuke didn't fail to notice the bland honorific she used behind the ice queen's name. When they were younger he vaguely noticed the three of them were closely nit to one another, but apparently that changed after one of them died. "Speaking of Tsunade, where was she when all of that happened? Two of her most valuable Anbu soldiers fall off the grid and she does nothing?"

The Hyuuga heiress paused for a moment, a grimace settling onto her face as yet another sour memory came tumbling forth from the recess of her mind, "I asked."

"And?" he pushed impatiently.

Hinata swallowed and averted her eyes for a moment, "She remained silent and almost seemed to reprimand me for even asking. Everyone wanted to know, but few had the courage to ask and I was one out of three that did and the three of us were shot down quickly and harshly"

"And back then, to my knowledge, Tsunade didn't have a board. She just had Shizune and Sakura by her side..." he pondered for a moment, "if she did have some amount of advisors then surely it wouldn't go over well with them. Who were the other two that asked? The three of you met somewhere?"

Her opal eyes finally looked up at him again, "Conveniently, the three of us worked under Sakura and Tsunade-shisou at the time. It was me, Shizune-san, and Yamanaka-san"

Now there was a surprise. He didn't think Ino would really have the guts to ask considering she had a habit of cowering a little against someone who had authority, but he guessed he was wrong. Lately it seemed like he was wrong for a lot of things. It was still hard for him to wrap his head around the fact that Sakura was once an Anbu lieutenant.

"All of our answers when put together resulted in the same thing and we soon realized that she would be taking whatever she knew to the grave...and that's exactly what she did. Even though she wasn't technically Hokage anymore and Naruto had already started his training to take her place, she still participated in the war with Kumo"

He had heard about the war while he was once hiding out in Suna, and made multiple notes not to venture near any of the areas while they were still warring. He didn't hear much about it from where he was considering that Suna had always been allied with the Leaf, but apparently Sabaku no Gaara had been requested by Naruto not to participate in it. Later once the war was dissolved with heavy losses from both sides it was said that it was a bloodbath, and this bloodshed had only happened because of two profound ninja leading the assault. Sasuke had a hunch who those two were thanks to the information he was getting out of Hinata.

"Where was Sakura stationed?" he asked, "surely not too far up front because her healing abilities were still needed"

He was surprised to find Hinata shaking her head no, "Healing was no longer her responsibility. That task was left to me and Yamanaka-san as jounin while she was apart of the front lines with her squad and Naruto"

Sasuke slouched back in his side of the booth completely dumbfounded by the past he was clearly not ready for. He had missed out on so much and he was almost sour about that, but that was his sociopathic side talking. His logical, methodical side was thanking his lucky stars he was nowhere to be seen when shit went to hell for the Leaf. Still...he missed out on a good fight.

"And how exactly did Tsunade fall?"

"Apparently a rookie genin team snuck onto the battlefield and into the front lines when the only reason they were there in the first place was purely for healing. Ino was suppose to lead them but a surprise attack left her indisposed for a brief period of time, but in that short time span it left her team unguarded and at the mercy of our enemies," she took on this sad expression, "Tsunade was somehow notified and she was the closest at the time..."

Sasuke found it hard for him to respond to the gruesome tale, and somewhere along the line he surmised that a normal person would feel some amount of guilt at hearing what happened.

"Overwhelmed by numbers," she cut the details to a minimum for her own sake, "...they more or less tore her apart"

He closed his eyes and grimaced at what sort of image his mind came up with at the moment. His mind's eye was literally conjuring a nice pictures of what torn limbs and carved flesh would look like. Still, in his opinion, he thought it insulting and ridiculous for a Sanin like herself to go down the way she did. All just to save a bunch of foolish kids that shouldn't have been there in the first place.

Opal colored eyes could see the moon shining high in the dark sky outside of the restaurant and turned her attention back to Sasuke who seemed a bit overwhelmed. They would have to continue this conversation at a later time, perhaps planned the next time. She politely removed the napkin from her lap and sat it on the plate in front of her, standing up and dusting off her dress as she watched the Uchiha stand as well and take his food with him.

"I should get back to the compound," she said while looking over his shoulder briefly, "knowing my sister, she'll probably wonder through the streets looking for me and when that happens I'll have Neji to worry about"

Sasuke mentally disregarded her irrelevant words and only focused on the fact that she wished to leave. He had to know when they would continue their conversation. "I hardly think this is the place to meet again," he gave the man at the counter one last look, "I don't think I'm welcome enough as it is"

Hinata didn't spare one more look at the man and waved her hand flippantly in his direction, "I'm still appalled that he did that, but I suppose I can't be surprised when I remember what clan he's from," she thought for a moment on appropriate places to speak to the Uchiha again when a place in her mind appeared, "that intersection you saw me in, meet me there tomorrow at dusk, and if you can...bring flowers"

The Uchiha didn't bother with hiding the confusion on his face, "What for?"

She gave him a look before brushing past him gracefully, leaving behind an apricot scent, and left without saying another word. If he was the least bit grateful towards her for taking a huge chunk out of her time to not only defend him but fill him in on events that didn't necessarily fill her with joy then he would do what she asked him to.

* * *

It didn't take long for Hinata to reach the large area that was her compound, but she stopped suddenly when a certain flare of chakra met her attention. She knew who it was without even turning around to see him, and she could only sigh because she literally saw something like this coming. Keeping her lady-like appearance up and hiding her disdain, she turned around to meet dark, all-seeing, brown eyes and crossed arms.

"Kiba," she greeted quietly.

He stood alone, wearing his signature black leather jacket with loose dark pants, and it was obvious that he knew what she had been up to if his non-pleased expression was any indication. When he opened his mouth to speak Hinata couldn't help but get a glimpse inside of his mouth where his sharp and elongated fangs resided. Both sets of them looked sharp and ready to cut, pretty pearly whites.

"You were speaking to him," he stated rather than asked.

The urge to roll her eyes was so strong then, but she opted to just lightly clench her first behind her back. "What of it?"

"You should be careful around him...he may drag you into something you can't get out of. Especially with how close he is to Naruto, it wouldn't be good for you or Hanabi"

An irritated twitch made itself known on the edge of her eyebrow, "I do not agree with the direction Hanabi is taking, but I am doing things my own way whether she wants to side with me or not"

"Then the least you could do is talk to Neji about recon," Kiba paused for a moment and all of a sudden he felt smug, "he's not doing that great of a job"

She narrowed her eyes at the Inuzuka then, a dangerous tone in her voice warning him to cease with his meddling. She was already mad enough that Kiba of all people found out what she was planning to do. Neji she would handle later when she got home.

"Sasuke has nothing to do with the plan. He doesn't even know about it, doesn't even have a clue as to what's going on around him. He's not my concern..." her voice lowered a little, "my main concern is you"

Kiba scoffed, "There's no need. I have my end under control"

"No. You don't. You have no control over it! And now it's running amok all over the place...people will start to eventually ask questions and after that...I can no longer help you" she said shaking her head.

"And what about you? I know what you're doing, and I'm telling you there's no point because Naruto will be too much for you. The way he is now...he'll destroy you if you even minorly get in his way"

Hinata had had enough, she was through with taking Kiba's helpful advice. "Then why don't you just join me? Those ears of yours hear all and that nose smells all. You of all people know how much I could use you"

"And you of all people know that I take no sides. This is your bone to pick, your own silent war. I'm just hear to tell you that messing with Naruto's pawn would only mean the end for you if he ever finds out"

"Then let me remind you that if anyone were to ever find out about you then it could mean the destruction of your entire clan, including you if they don't try to harvest you first" her voice then began to take on a deadly hiss, "if you aren't with me then you are surely against me"

Kiba watched with a glare as she then spun on her heal and walked towards her home. He knew deep within himself that she was going to regret doing whatever she wanted like she was now. The only reason he wasn't helping her was solely because he didn't wish to go down with her, that and the fact that their visions were not the same. Their worlds were completely different and he already knew that he was quite knowledgeable of her's, while she and everybody else had only just scratched the surface of his own.

* * *

A/N: Please no spoilers to all of the readers who had read this story before it was revised. I will be so mad if I find them in the comment area. Seriously I'm warning all of you now. Spoilers in the reviews will result in the termination of this fanfiction. Other than that I would like to apologize for the wait. My only excuse is that I was in the process of moving and something very serious happened to me and my family that we all had to recover from mentally. Any who, please review and tell me what you think of this installment. Guesses about the storyline's future is greatly welcomed and appreciated. Happy Reading ~Sasusakui

**Note** If there're any mistakes that's only because I want to hurry and give you guys this installment. If I try to fix it now I guarantee it will come out late tomorrow. I'm so tired


	7. Chapter 7

"I'm thinking of going to Suna again," Naruto's writing hand was going at a speed that he didn't even comprehend himself, "I've talked to Kurama recently...and I've been informed of something that I must speak to the Kazekage about"

Kakashi watched as his ex-student worked endlessly at his desk. He had checked into his office early morning while most normal people were still asleep, even shinobi. A part of him pitied the role he'd signed up for, he could see the weight of the world sitting on his shoulders like a stone, while another part of him wanted to praise him for taking his position in stride.

He shoved a hand lazily into his pocket and leaned against the wall on the far side of the room, it was just the two of them so he had freedom to speak however he wished, "The others aren't going to like this...they'll want an explanation and we all know you're not big on giving them. Kiba won't be concerned, however, Neji and Towa will be out for blood, and if I can I could try to talk to Yugao"

"I'm not worried about Neji or Towa. I'm itching to kick them off my board completely but the simple fact is I need them. They're both from important clans, not to mention Towa is part of Anbu like Yugao and I need representatives from that area as well. Kiba is Inuzuka and so far I have no qualms with him...and you...you're my last remaining link and I want you near me"

It was an unspoken bond between the two that had inevitably strengthened over the death of their beloved friend and teammate. Naruto really didn't have to say anything about Kakashi's position because he already knew where he stood. He was the only one left alive that could share in his pain over her, and Naruto was going to hold onto that so tight that he would be suffocating. Nothing would touch Kakashi for as long as he lived, he would die first.

Kakashi sighed openly. Naruto was so headstrong and calculating now it was hard for him to listen to an ounce of reason, he swore up and down he had it under control when clearly something was backing him into a corner far enough to where he felt like he needed to talk to Gaara again. The red-head was always the first person he went to when he needed consultation on something bothering him, and after those meetings the blonde suddenly knew what he had to do next and it would all work out in the end.

"It won't look good to the others," others he was referring to the other powerhouse villages that were already wary about the Leaf, "the rumors have left them on edge, and you're the only one oblivious to it...they may start to suspect us soon"

Naruto paused momentarily to look at Kakashi seriously, his writing hand laying to rest only for a second, "I couldn't really care less if they think we're harboring some sort of monster just because I'm sticking by Gaara's side on this whole thing, but I at least understand what you're saying..." the blonde paused momentarily and spoke lowly, "you're afraid that we may just go down with them. With all the tension and fear going around, they're looking at under-handed violence to settle their accusations, and with how I've been acting...we might be facing another war sooner than we're ready for"

"We can't afford another war," Kakashi gave Naruto an almost drained expression, "financially we can't considering the last war left us almost teeter-tottering on the edge and...emotionally we can't. You're lucky all of Rookie Eleven survived that onslaught that they brought down on us, however, the rest of us didn't fair out so well"

It wasn't hard to detect the bitter tone underlying his old sensei's words and through those words he could hear what he was silently accusing him of, and it disgusted him, "You really believe that the only people I care about is just Rookie Eleven?..." the blonde could only shake his head slowly at the seemingly dismayed man, wrecked by war and bloodshed, "the only people I care about are you...and Sakura"

Kakashi knew this already and it was all worse than he originally thought. He was hoping Sakura's passing wouldn't hurt Naruto all the way up into his full adulthood, but it was clear. The pain that prevailed over the years was still so very clear.

"You must be prepared to do whatever it takes to either win a war or prevent one," Kakashi warned, "or it's very possible that we'll be destroyed the next time. The Leaf, the Land of Fire, we will be no more"

* * *

"_Beware Sasuke..._"

Sasuke was staring wide-eyed into open nothingness. It was dark enough to where he was almost wary of not knowing where the rest of his limbs were, and the sound of rushing water didn't bring him ease either. Neither did the oddly familiar voice.

"_We are coming...soon_"

The voice tells him to beware as in warning but really it was warning him about itself too. Sasuke didn't know whether or not he should still listen to it, there was a terrifying emotion in his stomach that was telling him he should do everything in his power to stop listening. It gave him chills and goosebumps, making his breathing all around erratic.

"_Tragedy awaits you..._"

A rush filled his body and he felt himself falling, and the fact that he didn't know how far he had left to go until he hit the ground left him flailing about wildly and a scream rushing up his throat and into the air above him. His body felt like he hit something hard with an oomph and the Uchiha found his eyes shooting open and a cold sweat lining his forehead. He sat up quickly and his heart was almost pounding out of his chest with solid fear. The dream was still fresh on his mind and he could remember everything that the voice said, and even remembering it sent the same uneasy emotions going through him. He had to calm down and breathe. There would be no point in hyperventilating now. Sasuke didn't have episodes like that, but if he didn't want to then he would have to get his shit together.

He held his forehead in his hands, his naked back and chest being blasted with cold air circulating throughout the room from somewhere. Did he leave the air conditioner on last night? Now being in a well mental state and occupied with something else, his head lifted to check out his surroundings only to be horrified once more. What the hell was he doing here of all places?! His natural reaction was to get angry like he usually did, but too many eery questions kept arising in his head. No...this couldn't be real. He had to be dreaming or something. He ripped the sheets off of himself and felt disgusted that his body seemed to yearn for the warmth that those foreign, alien sheets provided for it, the farce familiarity coming from that bed that wasn't his own.

His footsteps stomped all across the wooden floors, and he grimaced at the correct layout of his whole childhood home that he once shared with Itachi, his mother, and father. Cold tile was met and he found himself in the small kitchen that made his skin crawl. Sasuke refused to look around more than he had to and looked specifically at the small dining table for the proof that he was really in the place he despised the most, and there it was...waiting cold and still like a death toll. His Sanuki wasn't exactly untouched like it was the night before, but it was evident that he had taken more than a few bites out of it before he climbed into bed. The only problem was that he couldn't remember ever coming back to the Uchiha compound, no recollection whatsoever. All he remembered was heading back towards the inn he had passed while going to that Inuzuka restaurant, food in hand, and then nothing. He would never come back here willingly, but everything around him proved that he did.

He glared at the takeout food and stomped away back into the bedroom, gathering his discarded shirt off the floor and walking towards the exit of the house, the food can rot there for all he cared. Hopefully it would attract termites and the whole thing would just crumble to the ground for the excitement of the insects. His feet easily slipped into his sandals at the front of the sliding door, but this time he kept his eyes open as he walked outside and into the disgusting excuse for a compound where he stood alone.

* * *

Kiba stood quietly in the middle of the utterly destroyed mass of the old training grounds in the central district of Konoha. He noted the jagged edge of the rock jutting up from the Earth, the remnants of chakra left behind and implanted into the bark of the wilted trees, the spots of blood that had yet to be completely and totally absorbed by the dirt underneath it. This place was turned into a monument by none other than Naruto, and Kiba could see why. He knelt down and swiped up a small patch of dirt with old blood still on it and brought it up to his nose, inhaling a great deal more of its scent than he originally wanted to...and almost went into a state of euphoria.

"Look at you," someone crooned from behind him.

His eyes shot open for a moment, and a jolt went through him at being caught doing what he was doing by someone else. He stood up slowly and turned to face his adversary that was no other than Hinata, who was looking more smug than she usually did. Visibly he relaxed in her presence considering that if anyone else were to find him doing what he was just doing then he would be questioned relentlessly.

"You can hardly control yourself," she said with a hint of disdain and annoyance, "I thought I would find you here"

He huffed, canines glinting in the morning sun, and shoved his hands in his pockets. "After what was said last night you can imagine my surprise that you would even consider seeking me out..."

"I've reflected on my words," she trailed off with the slight incline of her head, "and I realized that when it comes to you I have to approach things in a more compromising fashion. I do something for you...you do something for me"

At this the Inuzuka's ears perked to attention. He wasn't easily bribed, but when it was the Hyuuga heiress providing it he would at least consider hearing what she had to offer. It was also important that he figure out what kind of information she had on him as well and that what she was about to offer him that would coincide with that. This could also end badly for him depending on what she would want him to do.

"I won't guarantee that I'll agree to anything," he said while narrowing his eyes at her, "but I will listen to what you have to say"

She couldn't think of a better response coming from him. He wasn't exactly bending to her will like she expected and that was because he was nothing short of a genius that had a mind made of iron. He saw right through whatever she was planning to do and he knew how to avoid Naruto's wrath expertly, and that's what she needed. Kiba was like a security blanket for her against Naruto and it was imperative that he join her side, without him she couldn't maneuver like she wanted to.

"I'll give you an alibi" she said in a solid tone.

The Inuzuka paused indefinitely. He hadn't known just how much Hinata knew about him and his extracurricular schedule and the glint in her eyes made it obviously known that she had someone watching him. It just went to show him that he couldn't really trust anyone.

She knew she had him by the look on his face, the face he probably never thought he would make because he thought he was careful. Well, he wasn't careful enough for her and now she had him by the jaws, as fearsome as they may seem.

"You can't" he told her.

Her hands flew up to her hips as she gave him a look, "And why can't I?"

"Because if shit hits the fan, which it will," he added with a glare, "you will be executed for treason"

"I've done things that should've gotten me executed a long time ago, political things, terroristic things, and shady things..I've orchestrated them all. It's me behind the scenes Kiba" she admitted openly.

He thought she was impossible then, "And for what? What are you trying to do?"

He shook his head at her, wondering how the hell he had ever loved her when they were kids, "I could use that information against you Hyuuga"

The dark-haired beauty didn't fail to notice the change in address, maybe years ago when she still felt open and raw from Naruto leaving with Sakura she would truly be affected, but not anymore. It took a lot for something to truly bother her now.

"But you won't. My dirty laundry is far cleaner than your's.."

"They will view us as one of the same. Traitors"

Her eyes narrowed at him, opal eyes cutting through him like a blade as her anger grew sharper and sharper, "But we both know the difference between you and I, Inuzuka"

Brown eyes flashed for a moment, and Hinata saw exactly what she wanted to see, what he truly was...which she had only heard rumors and speculations of. She had finally seen his bloodline limit (only a glimpse), the secret one that only the first borns of every five generations possessed.

"Tell me...say it" his voice was hallowed out like a tree, "tell me what no one else knows, say exactly what's on the tip of your tongue"

Hinata showed no fear in front of the man even though deep inside she was truly afraid of him. There was always something dark and mysterious about Kiba, and now that she knew the truth and the horrors that followed him and his family she couldn't say confidently that she would no longer see him as a threat to her safety.

Still, a rueful smile graced her lips as she tilted her head down, "I use to think fondly of you, you know...and to this day I still thank you in those times where you supported me when Naruto and Sakura abandoned us those years ago...things have changed"

Kiba thought her back-tracking was smart on her part, but bringing up the past was nothing he was interested in, "Things have changed, but we're in a time where we can't make rash decisions such as the ones you're making right now. Blackmailing me into helping you is-

"I'm not black-mailing you Inuzuka," she glared at him from underneath her lashes, her opal eyes shining once again, "it's a simple trade off between two people that are capable of making the demands that are required"

"An alibi is useful don't get me wrong, but what exactly makes you think that my integrity would be questioned any time soon?"

He looked at her with suspicious eyes as her face fell flat and she glowered softly at the dirt beneath her white shoes. Sometimes she hated his extraordinary mind, his ridiculous amount of intuition, as well as his upstanding character. It was so easy for him to slip through the cracks with little to no hardship at all, but for her it was a constant looking over her shoulder to make sure she herself and her followers weren't caught by the ever so suspicious Hokage.

"That piece of information comes at a price," she shuffled under his intense stare, "and that information lies with Neji"

Kiba turned his back on her, "Then you aren't the person I need to speak with..."

"And you would kill him?" she asked softly, "he won't tell you anything unless he knows that I approved of him speaking to you"

The edges of his mouth turned up slightly in a frown, "That's not how I operate"

Hinata saw right through the harmless lie that he told, and looked past it without a care, his lies stopped hurting her a long time ago.

* * *

Naruto's three day travel to Suna didn't take long. What was normally a five day's worth of travel for a group of highly skilled jounin and four days for a squad of Anbu, only took three days at the most for himself, Kakashi, and Neji.

The blonde was literally ambushed with questions as soon as the words came out of his mouth that he would be returning to Suna, even more arose when he didn't offer any sort of explanation behind that statement as well. It took everything within him to keep his cool and dismissive composure against his council, but he could feel an old rage starting to return to him. Something he promised himself and Sakura years ago that he would get rid of the more time went by, and it was stress that was becoming the adversary that was making such a promise hard to keep. He felt like he was losing to a war he didn't even know he was fighting, all he knew was that he was losing. His attitude was beginning to grow into something more dark and ugly than he would've liked or felt comfortable with, he's not seeking or speaking to Kakashi as much as he should because for some reason there was a sort of distance beginning to grow between them, and lastly and probably the most painful fact was that Kurama was starting to make less and less of an appearance inside of his mind. Of course the fox and his power would always be within the blonde, but the host would've appreciated if they talked more considering no one else seemed to understand.

Sand dunes surrounded the three as they walked silently, assuming the same position they were in the last time they made this same path through the barren desert. Neji led the trio and taking up the rear was Kakashi who lagged far enough behind to give Naruto his space as it was quite obvious he had some thinking to do, however, Neji lingered nearby the young Hokage, suspicious opal eyes glancing at the jinchuuriki host every once in awhile. Hatake thought the Hyuuga obvious in his actions, but it wasn't too far from that moment when he realized that he wasn't trying to hide his intentions. Neji was making it clear that he didn't trust Naruto or whatever they were suddenly going to Suna for, and it wasn't making the blonde shine in the best of light when once again he chose to refuse to explain himself.

"You're seriously not going to tell the rest of us what we could possibly be going to Suna for?"

The Hyuuga's voice seemed to fall on deaf ears as cobalt eyes seemed to be lost in the sand dunes far away from them. It was almost as if he was in a completely different world that Neji nor Kakashi even knew existed. Neji shook his head. No one could get through to him when he was like this and the only one that could happened to be dead and lost to their world forever, but eternally living on through Naruto himself.

"I must consult with the Kazekage..." he was still lost in thought, "there is something very important we must speak about"

Neji turned around fully to look at him in surprise, while the languid ex-teacher from behind threw the blonde a simple eye crinkling smile, "Now was that so hard?"

"And you couldn't say that to the rest of the council? You could've said anything to calm us, to make us have a little more faith in you, but you said nothing"

Silence. The blonde was too troubled by his thoughts and worries to really respond to the Hyuuga any more than he already had, and he wasn't really responding to him any way but rather out loud to himself and Kakashi to keep himself focused in the tyranny of his thoughts and ideals.

Neji fumed at being ignored once more and felt even more out of the circle than in it. He was tired of that. Despite being the eldest out of his two sisters and being the sub-head to his own clan, his younger sister Hinata had more leeway than he did as well as more say so simply because she was the main head. The two of them both had their own power in their very own right, but the Hyuuga male knew clearly where certain loyalties laid and they were obviously not with him. Hanabi was even worse considering how power-hungry she was starting to become over the last couple of years, and more or less she was starting to gain a few followers of her own. He honestly didn't know whom was the bigger tyrant, his youngest sister or the Hokage himself. The logical few left of the clan sided with Neji and his conservative ways and thinking, wanting nothing more than the betterment and the protection of the village while the others wanted something more than what he wanted...something selfish and a bit more dark.

Hinata wanted him to tell her things about Naruto, anything off about him that may seem out of the norm or uncouth even for him because he was in a position she was not for once. He told her he would but that he did nothing for free and because of this exchange he was given a small piece of her massive birthright, giving him more power over Hanabi who still had just her own birthright to possess. Ever since Naruto's change in attitude occurred, the two siblings had given each other pieces of birthright in return for favors, the more tyrannical the blonde got, the more conniving the Hyuugas became. It wouldn't be said that Naruto was the direct cause of Konoha turning a shade darker than it was before, but rather Sakura's death spun it all into play and had a hand in everything coming to a downfall (although a small truth like this would never reach Naruto's ears ever).

Suna's brick sand walls came into view on the horizon and the young Hokage quickened his pace, Neji and Kakashi immediately stepping out of his way for him to lead them the rest of the way there. His Hokage robes had undergone a transformation, not being adorned with the spectacular color of orange that became associated with the known blonde wherever he went, but rather the deepest red that could be colored on any material and the purest white that was etched out in satin leaves near the end of the cloak closest to the ground as he walked. His clothes were no longer the infamous orange either, it was now just dark black shinobi pants and a slightly baggy shinobi sweatshirt (due to the cold of Suna's desert at night), the outline of both being etched in slim line of gold due to his status and leadership in the last ninja war.

Anyone with eyes that could see knew what and for whom his cloak was representing and every time he left the village, jounin, chunin, and other lingering ninja alike could see that same cloak leaving with him. He never left without it. The fact that he never left it behind once made it known that he was still grieving, still in pain for his lost teammate and friend (and lover as some rumors suggest). To some other village powerhouses however, it may seem as a terrible trait of weakness and some would use that weakness to the best of their advantage. Neji attempted to point this fact out during a council meeting and it was at the time where Naruto had just come back from an out of village rendezvous while still wearing the cloak, there was no possible way he could keep wearing it and still expecting lesser villages surrounding their own to fear them. As soon as the words left his lips the Hyuuga instantly regretted them and wished they hadn't come out at all. The look that showed on his face then. The pure, un-tainted wrath that touched Naruto's face then was something he had never seen before and would rather not see again any time soon. The look in his eyes had the proud Hyuuga screeching to a halt and slowly retreating, even going so far as to making him swallow a hard lump that had grown in his throat. All arguments had stopped, no one had said a single word, and nervous glances going back and forth from the Hyuuga to the fearful Uzamaki were being taken at a rather rapid pace. Neji was sure he was going to be put on the chopping block then, his entrails left out in the open for everyone to see.

"If you would rather have someone replace me as Hokage then do as you wish.."

His voice was hallowed out as raw emotion racked through the blonde's throat when he spoke, a small bit of red chakra sputtering off of his tongue as he caged his anger in only for so long. Neji was taken back when Naruto had abruptly rose from his seat and hastily made his exit, his stride long and purposeful. Although seemingly languid and lazy, Kakashi had gotten up as well to follow after him, as well as Kiba (whom had cast Neji a rather nasty look as he passed by him) with more alertness and alarm as he left as well. Ino seemed to be teeter-tottering on the borderline of whose side she would choose, her doctorate mind making too much sense of the situation and yet her heart and emotions making her turn her nose up at Neji as well. Yugao was neutral as usual, while her partner Towa was silently nodding his head at the Hyuuga in approval for pointing out a fact that he didn't tolerate himself.

Even though the Hyuuga didn't like admitting that he was intimidated, he wouldn't be one of those people and say that he wasn't when he was thanking his lucky stars that Naruto had walked out that day.

Naruto paused in his stride and stood stock still, making Neji and Kakashi, whom were both stuck in their own thoughts as well, stutter to a stop in surprise. When dark brown eyes and dark green met Naruto's devastated face and his blue eyes trained on the sight ahead of them they eventually looked too, more than a little wary of what they may find. High alarm went through both men at the sight of something that made them shudder in remembrance of the war they barely made it out of alive, the state Suna was in being a replica of Konoha's almost completely destroyed ensemble.

Naruto searched his mind for an explanation, his eyes widening as images of his comrades falling to their deaths around him scorching across his mind like a star, and he could stand the sight no more before bolting within the ruins of Sunagakure.

* * *

Sasuke stood dead in the middle of the intersection bordering the fake Uchiha compound and the Hyuuga clan's, onyx eyes searching and wondering if maybe he had missed the female somewhere along the way. He waited for a few minutes more, a nicely sized bouquet of flowers in his hand, and he began to get agitated. Where was that haughty girl anyway?

Mind venturing elsewhere for a few minutes, he looked down at the flowers he had absent-mindedly and wondered if they met the requirements Hinata had in mind for them. He had no idea what he had to bring some for and still didn't know. The Uchiha supposed they were pretty enough and he really had no knowledge of them. Simple, white, and almost reminded him of tulips except they seemed a bit more elegant. According to the woman at the flower shop he bought them from, they were called Calla Lilies, and for some reason, made the elder woman blush and mumble something about whom he could be giving them to. He paid her no mind as he simply paid for the product and moved on to the destined rendezvous point.

A familiar chakra signature spiked and he turned around to see the woman in question, a bouquet of her own in her hand, and wearing simple white pants and a soft lilac tank, her hair in a messy bun on top of her head and her feet adorning white, strappy sandals. She seemed to assess every part of him intelligently before opening her mouth to speak.

"I didn't think you would actually listen to my request the last time we spoke, but...I suppose it would make sense if you did"

He slightly glared at her, "It's past dusk if you hadn't noticed", he gestured to the now dark blanketed sky and the full moon greeting the both of them while under it.

A soft smile fell on her face, full of sarcasm and poise, "Women are allowed to be a little late," she turned her back to him then, showing how fair and even toned the back of her neck was, "come on..the place we're going to is a bit of a stretch and won't be as crowded if we go now"

Sasuke harrumphed but said nothing in retaliation of her simple brushing away of her own tardiness and followed her languid stride towards the direction of Konoha's outskirts.

The walk to wherever they were going took at least thirty minutes, and Sasuke noticed that most shinobi that would usually lounge lazily about when there wasn't any action going on now stood erect and on edge. The Uchiha looked at them quizzically and none of them seemed in the right state of mind to even return his questionable gaze. Hinata seemed troubled at the sight as well, but noticed the thick and tensed atmosphere before Sasuke did. Something must have happened, and she would ask Neji when she had the chance, but for now she had her own mission to complete.

Their walk quickened the more they saw shinobi after shinobi fly across the rooftops above them, some of them even being Anbu who've yet to put on their masks, as if they were suddenly called right in the middle of what they were doing and had to leave that second. A horrid feeling began to crawl up Sasuke's stomach then and he wondered if somewhere they were being attacked, if so, he wanted no part of it and instead he would use the distraction as his means of escape. The Leaf was a place he no longer wanted to be in unless it was under his own terms, and if he couldn't...then he wouldn't want to be there.

They took the back way out of the village and went through a small piece of woods and eventually breached a circular clearing, where the trees opened up to reveal a field with a single slab of stone and a large green gem shooting out in the middle of it. It was then that Sasuke knew where they were, and what purpose the flowers in his hand served. Of all the places she could've taken him, this was the last place he wanted to be. Even from where he was standing he could feel the atmosphere getting heavier and heavier the more they got closer to the burial site. A soft gust of wind blew by them and a Sakura petal landed on his nose, to which he frowned at and looked around to see the multiple Sakura trees that surrounded the perimeter of the site. He wasn't afraid to admit that it all was beautiful.

"Yamato's handiwork. There was a time where he taught over the new Team Seven and he had instantly taken a liking to every single one of the members in it, including Sakura"

Sasuke nodded the further they walked until eventually they were met face to face with emerald stone, purple flowers surrounding it and swaying back and forth along with the wind. Hinata knelt down in front of them and a look of sadness seemed to pass briefly over her face and eyes as she nestled her bouquet of flowers within a patch of them. Her's were a pretty pink and orange and contrasted nicely and naturally with the dark purple of the flowers.

"When Yamanaka-san and I were still good friends she had taught me the significance of certain flowers and why some were chosen over others, and every single kind has a meaning behind it. I was young and fragile still and I thought all of them were the right choice for anything, but according to her..that was not the way to go about things. This patch of flowers here...is her handiwork, and what a sad meaning these flowers convey"

Sasuke's face fell just an inch. He wouldn't deny or tremble over their sadness, his ex-teammate may have seemed like a hindrance to him back then, but for everyone else she was full of love and had enough for everyone, not just him. He was going to ask what the flowers meant because he honestly wished to know when she beat him to the punch.

"Anemones...they represent abandonment and feeling as if one has been forsaken", she truly looked sad as she gestured to her own bouquet of flowers, "Alstroemerias...flowers of wealth, prosperity, and fortune but most importantly...friendship"

Sasuke looked down at his own flowers and hoped his own had more of a significant meaning and symbolism behind them. If he would've known they were visiting Sakura's grave then he would've been more respectful and thoughtful in his decision. He at least hoped they weren't ill or off-putting. Her hand reached for his flowers and he gave them to her as she inspected them, her eyes widening a little and a small smile appearing on her face.

"Calla Lilies. Whoever you give these to mean that you think that person magnificent and beautiful, as well as pure and innocent...they're also commonly used in weddings and between couples"

A light shade of red dressed Sasuke's face as he imagined his last memory of Sakura in a wedding dress. He huffed lightly and scratched the back of his head, his eyebrows furrowing together as he did so, "I just picked random flowers...that's all"

A knowing sort of look crossed Hinata's face then, "Whether or not you picked them simply because they were there, or because they're pretty doesn't matter. You subconsciously have made your decision...whether you know it or not"

It almost sounded like she was trying to feed him that red string of fate bullshit he heard of as a kid, "They're just flowers"

His words were final and she pressed him no further, for he was not a man to be pressed. Now to the real reason why she brought him here.

"Well. I figured since you were here you probably haven't been to Sakura's grave, and I'm pretty sure that there is no way Naruto would ever show you his precious place"

Sasuke watched as she lightly nestle the flowers he had in another patch of Anemones and stood up, wiping off her knees as she did so, "His precious place?"

Hinata nodded, "Look around. The way this place is so intricately decorated, so thoughtfully planned out with meaning and symbolism behind everything placed here that wasn't already. The emerald stone for her eyes, the stone because she was strong, the trees for her hair, the flowers...everything. If Naruto isn't at home sleeping for once, outside of the village, or in his office, then he is here, and no one disturbs him while he's here"

"So, technically speaking, we're not suppose to be here..." Sasuke stated with wariness in his tone, more trouble with Naruto is not what he needed right now.

"No, anyone from Rookie Eleven, or jounin that knew her personally are allowed to come here, it's just...no one comes here while Naruto is here. Kakashi also comes here alone, surprisingly more so than Naruto"

Now there was a surprise Sasuke thought to himself, as much time Kakashi spent with Naruto and himself during their genin days he would've thought the man didn't necessarily care, but apparently he was way off with that assumption. If anything the man probably felt horrendously guilty for not paying enough attention to her as he should've.

"Why did you feel the need to bring me here?" Sasuke couldn't help but feel more uncomfortable the more he stood there over his ex-teammates grave, "are you trying to make me feel guilty for something?"

He hadn't meant for that to slip out as easily as it did, just the way he said those words made it seem as if he did...did he feel guilty about Sakura? Should he? A pang shot across his chest at the mention of guilt, the same kind of guilt that he had thought he was over when it came to the truth about his brother Itachi. Everything he had grown to become could've been avoided, all of it could've been avoided...even...

"I did not. Your relationship with Sakura, or lack thereof, is completely between you and...well yourself. I have nothing to do with it"

He appreciated the fact that she knew her boundaries when it came to such a taboo topic, because everyone else considered it open game to talk about in front of him. Sasuke never considered an actual relationship with Sakura, although she presented the idea to him many times, he was just never interested. However, he was interested in this new Sakura he kept hearing about, but he would never have the chance.

"Anyway, looking around...what exactly do you see here?"

Sasuke grew a confused expression, "Other than a future historical monument and a sacred place...a grave"

Hinata blinked before choosing her words carefully, "Is that all you see?"

Sasuke saw her opal eyes reflect the moon before landing on the soft earth above Sakura's grave and he may have been despicable before but there was no way he was capable of doing what she was suggesting.

"No" he stood firm next to his decision, this may have been the last he'd ever heard of Hinata but he wouldn't do something that he'd rather not have someone do to him (considering what he's already done).

Hinata didn't seem surprised by his answer, in fact, she seemed expectant, "I know you have questions, and you know I have answers. You wish to know about the past, present, and future and I am here to satiate your curiosity...and you'd walk away?"

The Uchiha knew he was walking on a dangerous path, and he could feel his resolve slipping the more he saw truth in the kunoichi's words. He had no one else he could turn to, Naruto falling under that polite category as well, and Hinata seemed to be his only outlet. If she was the only person he could rely on then he would think it suffice. Who could blame him? Afterall, he knew when he was being used and he'd already shaken hands with the devil once before.


	8. Chapter 8

High desert winds cleared what little left of the smoke that rose from Suna's gates, and the chilly air that had already settled in left no kind of real help for fire to spread although there were a couple sprouts here and there. Neji and Kakashi couldn't stop the enraged and devastated blonde from dashing through the gates and inside. It was difficult to keep up with someone that became less than a blur in about ten seconds. They called out for their Hokage a couple of times, but it fell on deaf ears and the next thing they knew, he was gone. Completely.

Neji looked around bewildered, a rise of panic shooting up his body at the prospect of returning to Konoha without its Hokage and having to explain how he of all people didn't know where he was. He shook his head, a firm look growing on his face at the idea, he'd be damned. His Byakugan was activated in no less than ten seconds, he would find Naruto if that was the last thing he did, it would just take a while considering they would have to search throughout Suna's entirety.

Sand towers that use to tower the skies were destroyed and toppled over, shredded bodies of its citizens were thrown about haphazardly as if they were sampled and spit out because of incompetant taste, the hard and pressured sand that was used to pave out roads were scorched with fire and cracked in certain areas with blood. Suna was, in all sense of the word, utterly destroyed and the two men had completely lost their leader in the midst of it all.

"I can't pinpoint his chakra at all, and knowing how much of a hothead he is it shouldn't be hard," he was nothing short of outraged and terrified, "and what happened here?"

Kakashi was still gazing at the bloodshed around them, sharingan already present and working, when Neji's words finally reached him, "Naruto isn't who we should be worried about, he can handle himself...and I think it's safe to say that this was the work of that phantom beast we've been hearing so much of these past months"

The Hyuuga didn't so much as spare Kakashi the bewildered gaze he wanted to because he was too busy pouring his focus into finding Naruto still, "This beast does not exist...the imagination of these people that started this rumor based on something that doesn't leave chakra behind is just ludacris! Which is why I believe that this affiliation with Suna should dissolve completely" he looked around a bit meekly then, "though it seems we probably won't have a Suna to break alliances with anyway"

Although this is what Neji said, this is not what he fully believed...his eyes didn't lie. His faith in his own abilities and those of his bloodline was limitless and either it was doubt something he looked towards so much for the past twenty-two years, or actually take what he saw around him as the truth. The Byakugan would've caught and lit up any chakra traces in a bright blue, but all he saw was the fading dark blue leaking out of the sand ninja that were already dead. Whatever enemy that did something like this left no trace behind, only bodies.

Kakashi cast a glance at the Hyuuga before grimacing underneath his mask, "Don't let Naruto hear you say that. If you don't think that the beast exists...then explain the deaths with nothing to go off of, explain what we're looking at right now"

Neji paused for a moment, briefly going back to his conclusions of knowing that the beast was real...and denying it all over again, "As much as everyone would like to think a human being couldn't possibly do this and that some monster we can't see did, we have to realize by now that we can't trust the good hiding in the human heart, but rather not underestimate the pure instinct acting within"

Kakashi didn't respond to him as they continued walking further into the desecrated sand village.

* * *

"You can't deny that something strange is going on here and I know your reappearance back in Konoha is no coincidence of you getting caught while trying to pass through, you were never caught before, so why now? That is the question I asked myself when I saw them hauling you in"

Sasuke's mouth fell into a straight line, the midnight breeze gently blowing his raven hair into his face, "For someone who's probably being avoided by everyone she knows just from talking and meeting with me it doesn't seem like you trust me very much, you're risking a lot if you ask me"

"I trust no one but myself and I don't need anyone behind me. The people who I minorly associate with don't have any important factoring decisions when it comes to whom I speak with, and besides that, the gain will be much more prosperous than the risk I am taking...or lack thereof"

Dark eyebrows furrowed for a moment before it all began to click in the Uchiha's sharp mind, the fact that she had never actually taken the initiative to satiate her own curiosity nonetheless surprised and disappointed him, "You've never actually seen into the grave yourself for whatever reason, but you would rather have me do it and then tell you what I see...confirming or denying whatever suspicion you may have"

Opal eyes shined as she ran a couple of fingers through the hair that was left out on either side of her face, a soft smile or something akin to one playing on her lips as she avoided looking at him, "Finally...a suitable partner"

"I'm sure you had one already...but what I'm not sure of is if I want to participate in the game you're playing. Something tells me that if I tango with you I just may _die_" he said off-handedly.

Sasuke wasn't entirely serious, he was after all, a master escape artist, but he was not a God. He didn't think Naruto would send the entirety of Konoha after one single person, but then again he couldn't say he knew Naruto all too well anymore either. The Land of Fire was known for making miraculous breakthroughs and victories while participating in war, and he would rather not provoke the anger that was already simmering within the shinobi population and give them the green light they were looking for in terms of killing him.

"You're smart Uchiha..." she said stating the obvious fact, "there's a reason why the both of us come from prestigious families and are siblings of elite prodigies we couldn't hope to compete with and are prodigies ourselves. That is what I believe as well...everything happens for a reason"

Onyx eyes narrowed at her, "Your actions don't match your ambitions. If you're as willing to lose it all as you let off to be then you would look in the tomb for yourself, and not wait for me to come along and do it for you"

"That's where you're wrong. I'm more than willing to do whatever it takes, but the fault relies within the seal preventing anyone with a magnificent kekkai genkai from seeing anything beyond the tomb's covering," she quickly noticed the growing fury rising behind the dark eyes of the male and re-thought over the next words she was going to say, "what I mean is when Tsunade sealed Sakura's tomb, she took away the option for any prying eyes to see inside. The Hyuuga clan of course is still around, Pein's Rinningan is sealed away from everyone, and as far as she was concerned at the time, the sharingan was nothing to worry about"

Sasuke saw the loophole now, "So it wasn't that you wouldn't...it was that you _can't_," Hinata nodded, "then what are you trying to find? What are you looking for? And why would Tsunade seal Sakura's tomb? It doesn't make sense"

"Exactly what I asked myself, what I asked her...but I received no answer. And those that choose to omit the truth obviously have something to hide" she muttered quietly.

This was beginning to interest Sasuke all over again. It wasn't exactly what he signed up for, but once again he found himself getting drawn into the attractiveness of the unknown, into some forbidden knowledge that he wasn't allowed access to, and into the past that seemed elusive to him because he chose not to be there to experience it.

His fingers twitched off to the side a little, and that once soft and cool breeze was starting to turn into a biting chill. It was as if the universe knew what he was about to do and was warning him that there would be no going back once he looked.

"I could be damned forever" he muttered under his breath as one of his tomoe was spinning to life.

Catching his cynical words, Hinata slightly frowned and tilted her head to the side, "Weren't you already?"

Her question went unheard as red eyes glowed and searched underneath the pile of dirt and bypassing the multiple seals that didn't filter the sharingan out and finally meeting the white body length box that he had seen once a year and a half ago. He had been curious then and was still curious now, but that dark cloud of apprehension was still hanging over his head. Deciding it was now or never, Sasuke widened his eyes a little, and like a camera's lens, his sharingan allowed him entry into what lay beneath...

And he drew away as if he was stung, eyes wide and his arm covering his mouth as his sharingan disappeared from view.

Hinata, now startled, whipped her head this way and that, before looking at Sasuke incredulously and repeatedly asking what spooked him to such an extent.

"Have you ever seen her body?" He asked suddenly gaining the smarts to speak again.

The Hyuuga heiress numbly shook her head, blood rushing to her ears the more Sasuke proceeded to scare her with his reactions. The prideful Uchiha was spooked, scared even, and that very fact in itself made her know a fear she hadn't come into contact with ever since Pein's invasion.

She shook her head fast, "No. None of us have...the only ones that did were Naruto, Tsunade and...Shizune I think"

Before the Uchiha could say anything more he felt an omnious, foreboding source of chakra heading towards them, and not just one but at least three. Judging from just the feel of their power unabashedly flaring from their position, which was just outside of Konoha's border patrol, the trio were formidable that was for sure. They weren't people that Sasuke particularly wanted to tango with as of now and he was sure that he could at least take on two, but three? He would rather not take a chance. As blood thirsty as he was, he knew his limits and abilities and only time was patient enough with him to eventually realize he couldn't fight everyone.

Hinata felt the signatures quickly gaining on them and it was almost instant that she knew who they were. She cursed repeatedly in her head at the sight of them thanks to her quickly activated byakugan, their masks shaped differently from the Anbu standards she was use to seeing. With a dismissive glance away from them she knew there would be no getting away from the three. A shiver of wariness went up her arms at the thought of them. She had spied for months on Naruto trying to figure out what he was hiding from them, only hearing little whispers about his secret and powerful army, his red Anbu corps that weren't even seen nor stationed inside the village. No amount of her Hyuuga weight throwing would help her reach her hand inside that cookie jar. The fact that she would see them now only meant that when she was summoned to the Hokage tower next it would be to receive a punishment, one probably worse than Sasuke's. If there was nothing the blonde male hated more than disloyalty, it was the delving into his secrets and private affairs, and she settled on the hard to swallow pill of an idea that she would be taken out of the game of chess between her and Naruto sooner than she thought.

The Uchiha watched as the Hyuuga heiress watched a non-visible assailant with a frown on her face, the first time he'd ever seen her displeasure.

"_Damn_" he heard her mutter aloud before her byakugan receded and the three signatures he felt before broke through the trees surrounding them. A rise of alarm went through his veins as he turned to face them, noting their gleaming red masks in the light of the moon and their different statures and designs on their masks. They were quite the scene. One looking as young as twelve standing poised and collected, while on the other end, obviously male, seemed to look as if he was just breaching his forties, and hardly able to contain himself at the prospect of a fight. The one standing in the middle appeared to be around his own age, and may even be from his own generation, but he couldn't tell just by looking at physique. All he knew was that it was a female taking up the lead of this squad, and if he was going simply by her stance, she hardly wanted to be there.

Uchiha eyes looked from one mask to another, frowning at the clown-like appearance the woman in the middle wore. It's mouth upturned in a agonized sort of way with tears coming down its sides. The young one adorning a mask that looked more like a wolf than a fox like some may assume, and noted that its muzzle was outstretched and open, revealing lips behind rows of teeth. The male of the group also wore a mask of clown-like appearance, the only difference being that its mouth was turned the opposite way in a manic sort of grin, also with tears. Sasuke had never been so creeped out in his life to be honest, and he almost, despite his pride, looked at Hinata for some sort of reaction.

"Why are you here?"

He turned to glance at her then, thinking she would wait for one of the members of the group to start speaking first and state their business for being there, but after ten minutes of silence and standing around, Sasuke figured they weren't going to say anything after all.

"...we overlook...these lands...foreign chakra was felt...trespassing the protective seals surrounding her tomb"

If he was right, the young one's tone of voice sounded close to endearment and he wondered if Sakura may have had a relationship with her at some point (now that he realized that the young child was indeed a girl). She looked back and forth from him to Hinata and back again, wondering which of them would step forward, and fell silent when neither did. Unknown to her, Sasuke had cast an accusatory glance in the Hinata's direction, but by her expression he could tell she wasn't expecting them to show up either. _Fuck_. This was just what he needed.

"Which one of you did it eh?! It disgusts me that either of you are even here, the traitor and the snake," the built man spotted the Hyuuga's miffed and surprised disposition, "the red army knows all of Konoha princess. Your name doesn't shield you from us"

Sasuke bristled._ The red army_. What the hell was that? Hinata seemed to know what it was, but not who they were. Her surprise came from their appearance not from their association. He knew it wasn't exactly part of their deal, the red army being apart of their present and not their past, and he most likely wouldn't get any sort of information involving them because of that, but he would still like to know. Naturally, his level of curiosity won out against his level of self-preservation.

To Hinata's horror, Sasuke stepped forward, his tomoes shining like black diamonds in a sea of red. She wasn't about to sacrifice herself for him, surely he knew that. All of her associates were disposable as soon as their usefulness ran dry, but the Uchiha was a well of opportunities that wouldn't run dry for many years to come. With a deeply rooted scowl, she realized that if she truly wanted to use Sasuke up for all he was worth, she would have to make some sort of sacrifice. With an inward huff, she also noted that she was tired of making sacrifices for what she wanted—sick of sacrifices period and here she was again standing offly close to the fire that would be Naruto's wrath for the sake of Sasuke.** He had better be fucking worth it.**

"I asked him to pry," she spoke with an air of authority, to which Sasuke frowned at, "and at first he refused, but I pushed until he eventually agreed to do so"

The large man seemed to bristle with barely contained anger, his partner shifting slightly next to him, and the young girl stared holes into the Uchiha as if searching for something.

Sasuke glanced at the Hyuuga heiress with narrowed eyes, that was a ballsy move, a move that told him she didn't give two fucks about their predicament. Although he was surprised that she gave herself up as well, she still drug him down with her, which he should've predicted. Still, he now knew what kind of game she played and how she played it. He wasn't sure how she was on the offensive, but he knew one thing, and that was the fact that she refused to go down by herself._ Selfish bitch_. She also had the audacity to sound haughty during her little spiel as well, which he considered stupid even for her. Just from their demeanor alone it was quite obvious that this was not some rag tag group that needed to be put in their place, but an organization that needed to be _placated_, not only because of who lead them but because of their power alone.

The one in the middle finally spoke, her voice a bit hallowed out and the sound grating on Sasuke's ears, "Hokage-sama will not be pleased. To know that the privacy of Sakura-sama's tomb has been desicrated will surely envoke his fury and the unrest of the army."

For some reason the sound of that terrified Sasuke and from the corner of his eye he could see that the news didn't fare well with the stiffened Hinata either. They had no idea that the both of them had prodded a hornet's nest and could only hope for the best as all three of them got into an offensive stance, their chakra signatures skyrocketing.

* * *

Neji and Kakashi traveled deep within Suna only to stumble upon a leveled area of the village. There was quite literally nothing left except for the paved roads that was once bustling with life the day before. In the middle of this leveled area was a familiar head of blonde crouched down in front of something, presumably a body by the look of the legs sticking out from the sideview of Naruto's back. The two men looked at each other before bolting to where the young man was, Kakashi wondering where the blonde's physche was at by speaking in that easy-going tone that Naruto associated with times of the past when he was a genin under his tutelage.

"Naruto...it's too reckless to go into this place head first when the thing that did this could still be around, what would the village do if something happened to you?—"

The silver haired male grunted in surprise at the sight of Naruto's hand delved deep into the cranium of the dead female below him, her blonde unruly hair ringing a painful toll deep within him as recognition set in. A nasty and disturbing _squelch_ rang out as Naruto moved his digits with ease through the mush. It was certain that blood was caking up underneath the blonde's fingernails, and blood clots were coating his knuckles as he searched for the information he sought. Just the stench alone made Kakashi's nose wrinkle up in disgust and it surprised him that he even had the stomach to watch an action being done with ease. Neji eventually looked to see what got the elder shinobi's attention and grimaced at the sight, a queasy sort of expression flitting over his face before he turned away.

There was no blood seeping from Naruto's fingers when he withdrew them. His time and space alteration learned from Obito sealing up the bloody fist sized crater in the middle of her temple as if it had never been made, only leaving behind the open wound of her throat where it was torn out. The blonde leaned back on his knees before standing up, his back still turned away from Kakashi as Neji walked off a little ways to quell his rioting stomach.

"What did you see?," Kakashi's voice was low as he said his next words, "that method of investigating and finding answers, as useful as it is, it taxes largely on your reserves"

Naruto softly shook his head, seeming unfazed by the carnage surrounding them, "Ino taught me a way to avoid such a drawback, and my mind is untouched if that's what you're worried about"

It was no secret that for a short time Ino, her father, and Ikibi had taught Naruto some techniques of questioning and gathering information before he ascended to the seat of Hokage. Many of the Yamanaka clan did not agree with such methods because of its crudeness and sense of detachment from human life, but such arguments were laid to rest after the war. The technique itself was extremely difficult and required a control over the user's chakra that made the feat itself exhausting. Not only was there a risk of complete chakra depletion from using such a jutsu, there was a high chance that the user could go mad depending on the mindset of the person the jutsu is being used on. That risk only increased when that person happened to be dead, their mind unhinged depending on what led them to their death. With the situation they were faced with now, Kakashi was right to worry about Naruto.

"Look at whats around us," even to Kakashi's own ears he sounded tired, "to be slaughtered by something that can't even be _seen_, these people died terrified"

"Not all of them. Some were killed by sand shinobi, saving them from the clutches of the beast by giving them a swift death"

Kakashi gave him an appalled look, one that Naruto could surely feel, "You didn't hear any of Ino's warnings?"

Naruto frowned once he turned to see Kakashi's disappointed gaze, "I don't enjoy having to use this Kakashi"

"Others would beg to differ," Kakashi's sharp eyes didn't miss the violent quake in the blonde's shoulders just then, "some of those deaths were horrible _Naruto_"

"I know!" The blonde snapped, "but I'll do what I have to if that's what it takes to find Gaara"

Kakashi shut his eyes away from his blinding determination, feeling sad and sorry for the blonde that use to have so much optimism, "And did you find him?" He shot back quietly, already knowing that he wouldn't listen to him.

Naruto turned his back on him, already setting his feet walking in the direction he knew Gaara was in, "He's holded up in one of the many emergency evacuation sites with his brother"

Kakashi followed after the blonde without a hint of protest, signaling Neji to keep up with them with the swipe of his fingers in the Hyuuga's direction, "And he went knowing the danger his village was in?"

"He didn't have a choice, it was either the whole village dies or he could save the few that he could grab. His sister knocked him unconscious before he would go back with her," his eyes narrowed as a vision of her torn throat came back to him, "and that's how she ended up the way she did"

The silver haired man didn't ask anymore, he also noted the eery silence the Hyuuga was giving off as well, probably still scarred for life after the nice little visual of Naruto poking his fingers around someone else's brain assaulted his eyes. What good was a board if all they did was plant targets on your back? Kakashi once tried to explain this to Naruto, warning him that once a board was made he would have to placate them and adhere to whatever they had to say about every decision he made, but that was a time when Naruto was more lenient and the concern he had for being a ruthless dictator was present. Now...such concerns no longer existed, and his leniency had withered to a thin line.

Naruto turned away and began walking towards the eastern exit of the village where the tall sand dunes led down into the large canyon valley below that was used as an evacuation trail when and if the village was under siege. Kakashi signaled Neji to catch up with them by the sway of his fingers in the Hyuuga's direction, once regrouped and together, they became a blur against the landscape as the wind from a nearby storm began to pick up.

They trekked the dunes with ease and eventually slid down to the edge of a cliff that fell off into the canyons. It couldn't be navigated by normal means, and someone with some amount of chakra would have to assist the civilians to get to safety, otherwise they were sitting ducks.

As the three of them stood at the top looking down, byakugan activated, Neji began searching for chakra points. Naruto said nothing as the man did this, as he already knew where the bulk of the refugees were hiding. The blonde seemed to be contemplating something deeply and Kakashi thought it best not to disturb him. When he looked at the Hyuuga, he noted that said man had been mostly quiet during the whole ordeal, and aside from Towa, he was the most vocal person on the board. Again he figured it was because he was still thinking about what he had seen Naruto do, the blonde's nonchalant attitude after the deed was done probably left his blood running cold. The elder shinobi knew Neji was as much as an opportunist as he was a light-weight. He wouldn't put it past the man to bring up Naruto's attitude at the next board meeting, and although it wasn't enough to up seat the blonde, it was enough to start planting even more seeds of doubt. Which was probably just as bad in Kakashi's personal opinion.

It was during this silence amongst them all that Neji decided to speak, "I doubt the Kazekage knows about his sister despite his extraordinary sensory skills, nevertheless he needs to be made aware"

"The only person who will breach the topic will be me and only me" Naruto said with an air of finality.

The Hyuuga snorted, "And you think you're qualified to handle emotional situations such as delivering the news that someone's loved one has passed?"

Naruto's eyes narrowed, "And whom do you suggest tell him? _You_?"

"Better me than you. You delved into someone's mind without flinching and now you think you're capable of being a shoulder to cry on?"

Kakashi knew it.

Naruto turned to him, a frown marring his face at the thought of the Hyuuga challenging him now of all times. What the hell was wrong with him? "If you told him then Gaara would kill you, there's no need to explain the danger of delivering life altering news to a tailed beast host"

Neji glared at the blonde, his opal eyes losing the slight aloofness that was once there, "And you, the Hokage of the Leaf, would allow the murder of a leaf citizen? An heir to a wealthy and powerful clan? As well as a noble?"

Kakashi sighed. It was foolish of him to challenge the blonde now of all times, if he would've known Naruto's actions would bother the Hyuuga this much then he would've talked to him while he was away puking his guts out. This was an awkward sort of coping method if Kakashi honestly said so himself, although, he didn't have room to judge considering he found solace in porn, but Neji seemed to find solace in arguing and challenging those in a position higher than his own. There weren't many people that fit that descrpition, but the few that did were Naruto, Hinata (although she was an heir the same as him), and his and Hinata's fathers. There would be no way for Kakashi to prove such a theory, he could be completely wrong, but the more he looked at the assertive male and the paleness in his face, the wideness of his opal eyes, and the tight clenching of his jaw, the less Kakashi thought he was wrong about Neji. He was scared of Naruto, and had every right to be.

"My allegiance with Suna _stands_," Naruto snapped with wide, furious eyes, "and you are either with me or against me, _choose_." He demanded.

The Hyuuga's jaw clenched shut, refusing to give Naruto the answer he sought, which only succeeded in making the blonde angrier.

"Should I take your silence as an answer?" Naruto's voice lowered to a warning tone that even Kakashi knew to stay away from, then again he would never get the blonde this angry in the first place.

The two men stared each other down for a good ten minutes, Kakashi standing beside them while looking between the two, the tension thick in the air and suffering the only mediator around. He sighed quietly in relief once Naruto turned away from Neji, descending into the canyon's mouth without another word to either of them. The elder shinobi glanced at Neji's troubled and grave expression and shrugged it off, moving to follow behind his leader without delay.

Neji stood atop the cliff, watching Kakashi descend right along with Naruto, and thought it a fitting analogy to what he envisioned happening to the elder man should he keep following after the blonde blindly. Still, he couldn't help the shiver violently go up his spine as the visions of Naruto and his actions flashed every time he closed his eyes—every time he blinked. Not to mention what the blonde said to him right before he left. Kakashi wasn't privy to the conversation, for those words were for him alone.

"**God help you.**"

He could do nothing else but curse his own name mentally. He hadn't meant for that to happen. His words had tumbled forward before he could stop them, and because of them, as well as his previous actions that peeved Naruto in the past, the Hyuuga heir had made an enemy out of the last person anyone wanted for an enemy.

* * *

A/N: is it dark in here? Or is it just me? Hope you guys enjoyed and haven't given up on me just yet. Please R&amp;R it keeps me going. Feed me! ~Sasusakui


	9. Chapter 9

Tomoes spun as chakra surged through his network, preparing Amateratsu to burn this place to the ground if need be, and like a plague, he could feel Naruto hindering him even here. His damn chakra was hard to mold with Naruto's constantly getting in the way, the simple fact made him snarl in fury.

If anything, Sasuke knew that he would have a lot more than Naruto to worry about if he happened to kill a member of this so called red army. It was against his blood to just lie down and roll over though, and if he had to kill someone to prove that he would, and damn was he tempted! He was practically itching to kill one of them for the sole purpose of imagining it was Naruto he was putting down and not some unknown shinobi.

The smallest one jumped high into the air, and his eyes followed her swiftly as she came down, a sharp glinting light catching his eye as she descended faster and faster. He was prepared, as prepared as he could be without weapons and his eyes widened as he estimated her trajectory and determined she would land somewhere behind him...far behind him. He whirled around and watched her plunge her wakizashi deep into the ground, visibly stiffening as her head swiveled around before she was knocked off her feet, a cry erupting from her as she met a tree. He stared with wide eyes at the spot the young girl was just crouched at a moment ago and looked at her slowly coming to form against the tree. _What the hell hit her?_

She scrambled to her feet before she was knocked away again, a much more pained cry coming from her as her arm was pushed away from her at a powerful and awkward angle, her body twisting as she was flung across the ground back to her teammates' feet. To Sasuke's surprise and horror, he watched as she laid there limp, her red anbu mask cracked open like a skull. A cold, violent shiver went up his spine then as he searched for any sign of life coming from the petite girl. It didn't seem like she would be getting back up again, in fact, she looked...

"..._dead_."

Sasuke's head snapped to Hinata at the sound of her sudden voice, her shaken form very much called for in this situation and her byakugan looking over the girl over and over.

"She's dead."

Bristling in surprise and fear, his red eyes searched frantically for an adversary he couldn't see, and he only grew more wary when his eyes provided him with nothing. His prized possession failing him for the very first time and certainly not the last. He could only shiver uncontrollably at the fact that two hits from the thing meant certain death. _Two hits. Two hits. Two hits._

All he heard next was a gasp and a sharp curse.

"Move!"

The command went unheard to him as the Hyuuga heiress tackled him to the ground, effectively landing on top of him and knocking the wind out of him as something large and heavy whooshed above the two of them, their hair being painfully pulled at their roots as they followed the same direction the powerful force was going. After re-gaining his stolen breath, Sasuke looked to the Hyuuga to see if she was in one piece, giving pause once he saw the wild and frantic look in her eyes. She pinned him with her weight and her bloodline was straining a bit on the harsh use as she watched the scene unfolding around them.

"You can see it?" He asked over the sound of rumbling earth around them.

She shook as her light eyes darted to and fro at a rate that seemed painful, "I can only catch a glimpse of it once it's about to attack, its going too fast for me to see it now"

Chaos ensued, and Sasuke realized quite quickly that this was not his fight and never would be, nor would he ever want it to be. He had heard about the phantom beast and the seemingly unprejudice killings it committed throughout the lands, and lucky for him he was either in a place that was already attacked or had yet to be, but as of now it seemed as though his luck ran out.

From near indiscernible footsteps to earth shaking stomps, the beast ravaged through the circular clearing as it seemed to circle around wondering which human to devour first. The only noise it made was the sound of it kicking up soft grass and dirt as it launched at someone else, almost clumsily, and the young woman of the red anbu group had dived and rolled to the left as a massive crater was smashed into the ground inches from where she had just been. Hinata heavily drew breath as the footsteps suddenly started to head towards them, and it was in that moment that she froze. Sasuke felt it too and grunted in annoyance as he wrapped his arms around her and rolled to the left, a crater of similar size to the last one it made now occupying the spot they use to be in.

Their positions had changed, and it was now him on top of her. His elbow supported most of his weight as he loomed over her, and his legs were on either side of her own, her black locks sprawled on the ground she laid on top of. Her arms were around him, her fear in suddenly being moved from one place to another making her instictively reach for him, and she hadn't let go. Her eyes said it all as she looked up at him, and he found himself liking the Hinata underneath him more than the one that was full of herself. Her fingers tightened on his shoulders as she bit the inside of her cheek, a frown marring her face as tears gathered at the corner of her eyes. Those eyes that continued to say repeatedly, _I'm scared, I'm scaredI'mscaredscaredscared._

The stomping stopped approaching them and eventually whirled around towards the burly man who seemed to be next on the thing's list to attack. Sasuke observed the male of the group was a bit slower due to his size and was clipped in the shoulder, his flesh flaying apart like butter from the beast's obvious sharp claws, but nevertheless managed to avoid being killed by hopping into a nearby tree. He clutched his wound momentarily, grimacing at the blood that already started seeping into his clothes and began to furiously go through hand signs that Sasuke couldn't follow fast enough to memorize. With a deep inhale, the man reared his head back, pursed his lips, and let out the most generous amount of murky oil that the Uchiha had ever seen. Even from his still prone position on the ground above Hinata he could see the rolling waves of the stuff coat the surrounding area in its slick and foul smelling odor and substance. The flowers that they had previously laid down were swallowed up, as well as the ones surrounding them, just as well as the emerald stone was now swimming in the black, murky stuff.

Sasuke frowned, his heart racing a mile a minute but his brain going just as fast, as he wondered what the hell the man was doing. Not that he cared too much, but for them to care so much more than he did about Sakura's burial site that guy ruined it. Everything was covered up with oil. Unless he planned to ignite this whole place and set it ablaze Sasuke really didn't understand the purpose for spewing oil about, until he saw it...his red eyes catching the slight glimmer in existence, the flicker of reality that broke and revealing a massive thing. Eyelids stretching further to a width that proved the Uchiha looked just as surprised as he felt, which was just as unbelievable as to what he was seeing slowly being drenched in oil.

_What...is that?_

The beast seemed to pause. Its hide was thick and strong underneath its blackened fur, and it turned from one human to another, watching them watch him, its eyes shining a luminescent gold. It stood on hind legs, having the feet of a goat's, the body and face of a wolf and a thick tail swishing to and fro angrily, however, it had human similarities and that in itself had a fear so strong and thick coursing through Sasuke that yet another harsh shiver went up his spine. Its claws were the same length as Sasuke's fingers, which were pretty long and thin, but were dwarfed by the thickness of the ivory bone probably capable of cleaving through bricks and diamonds. The human-like aspect of the creature were its arms, eyes, and hands...yes...those were hands. Its arms flexed and moved with a coiled up sense of power ready to unwind and snap at any given moment, its eyes, although unnaturally large, seemed as though any person could have eyes like that, and not to mention that it had hands with all five fingers.

The beast stood stock still, the only indication that the massive thing was even alive solely based on the steady rising and falling of its chest, which Sasuke surmised housed ribcages the size of half his entire body. He had seen the bodies of full sized men devoured only half way laid out in the middle of some small towns, the citizens too scared to even touch the carcassess in fear of contracting the enticing smell of blood and flesh on their person and having the beast's attention soon turned onto them. Back then, he knew for certain that this rumored beast couldn't be more real than the akuma that smaller children conjured in their dreams, the bodies torn to pieces had to be subject to powerful jutsus that he yet to know, but knew existed. He knew now what a fool he had been, an ignorant one, and he should've known that thousands of people couldn't all be telling the same lie. His emotions now held an all new capacity for fear, and he had no idea what to do with it. This thing would start to haunt his dreams if he didn't do anything about it, and the Uchiha felt less than inclined to let something else threaten the world inside of himself that he created.

The ground shook as the beast took two steps back from the slowly recovering male red anbu, not noticing the flicker that was behind it, and if Sasuke's eyes weren't deceiving him, which they never did (but had a minute ago), then he would say that the creature looked as if it were about to bolt considering its cover had been blown. Taking advantage of its wariness, the woman of the anbu group appeared behind it and launched herself at its scruffy neck, something black but otherwise shiny in her hands as she passed by. Sasuke expected blood to be spilt, maybe a horrifying scream, but he got neither as he realized that the object that was no longer in her hands and now around the beast's neck wasn't a weapon at all.

The beast snarled suddenly, seemingly growing bigger in its fit of rage as it clawed at the circular device around its throat. Its eyes were furious, and they glowed all the more as it stomped around in a fit trying to set itself free, but to no avail it seemed to somehow withstand the massive creature's strength. The anbu male smirked at the scene, admiring his efficient jutsu as the effects seemed to grow more prominent the more the beast moved around but then began to frown once the creature leaned its head back and pierced the area around them with its wail.

Sasuke's sharingan effectively disappeared, as well as Hinata's byakugan as they both began to groan in pain at the sound assaulting their ears. If they weren't already on the ground, the sound and power behind the noise itself would've brought them to their knees, much like it was bringing the members of the red army to theirs. The sound increased in pitch and it was too much to bear. It was absolutely defeaning. A warm liquid leaked out of Sasuke's ears and he could only guess what it was, but looking at Hinata's he knew it was blood. She still laid underneath him, her chest convulsing as the noise seemed to effect her more than him, and before he knew it her eyes rolled up and she fell limp, her head turning to the side as her consciousness faded. Shit. He couldn't last much longer either he realized, and he could only hope for the best when darkness came to meet him and wave hello.

* * *

They looked like machines standing in line like that in the pouring rain. They were immobile and unbreakable as they lined the borders in front of their war commander, and in her honey brown eyes there was no remorse for what her future orders would entail. She had lost many good jounin that she personally associated herself with and some of the chuunin that she felt like she had raised into becoming brilliant shinobi, all for them to be swept away in the current of death.

It was that day she decided no more, and she had offered up two of her favorites as sacrifices for the safety of everyone else's.

It pained her to look at them now. Stripped and broken of what they were formally into something crueler, but more efficient in their skills, all at a greater price, a greater good. They stood in the lead of the army of porcelain masks behind them, the pair although standing closer together than they should've, retaining a level of bland, stoic professionalism and awaiting their orders. If she wished it, all four hundred of them would stand out there in that kind of weather for hours, or even days.

Her eyes grew stern as she looked at them, the rain starting to pelt them all violently and making it harder to hear. The subtle change in her facial expression made them all straighten in unison, a resounding clap at the movement of their feet moving at once and making the busty blonde nod her head in approval.

"You all are aware of your orders, however, aside from your main objective, all procedures are to be carried out under the direct order and direction of your captain...Uzamaki Naruto."

"Hai."

Naruto hadn't thought about that moment in time in months. It no longer plagued his dreams when he slept, and it no longer haunted his waking hours. Until now when he found himself down on the smooth surface of the canyon floor with Kakashi giving him this worried expression. He drew himself up smoothly with a grace that was different from his sudden fall, and he was grateful to Kakashi for not saying anything about it. He hadn't had a moment like that in a long time and he thought that he had finally gotten over it but obviously not. It had once gotten so bad that he came to with Kakashi shaking him harshly and whispering over and over again to wake up. His head had suddenly made contact with his desk right in the middle of his conversation with the elder man, and it struck a feeling inside of the silver haired man so deep and old that said man was afraid he would never recover from such an emotion.

The blonde grimaced at the pain beginning to blossom in his right leg, left shoulder, chest, ribs, and his chin. His azure eyes looked behind them to glance at the tall, jagged side of the canyon wall and surmised that he must've lost consciousness on the way down, resulting in two of his ribs being broken, his right leg having a sharp, jagged rock impaled into it, his left shoulder out of place, and his chest having a nasty purple and blue bruise going across it. He could only sigh in relief, as hard as that was, at the fact that his cloak hadn't suffered any sort of damage what so ever. Limping lightly off to the side, using the canyon wall as support, he put his back against it and grimaced at his labored breathing. One of his fucking ribs must have punctured a lung and judging by the pain shooting up his chest on the right side he figured which lung it was. It had to be bad. Blood was starting to fill up his throat and with a heaving cough, it came out his mouth and nose, droplets of rubies streaming down his cupid's bow, lips, and chin.

Kakashi approached him, worry and guilt written all over his face as he watched his former student struggle. _Why didn't he catch him?_

It was a simple procedure, healing himself that was, and Naruto utilized the technique expertly. Kurama and himself were so much in-sync that he could tug on his coat tails of power and use such things to heal himself fully and completely as if the wound never happened at all. Unlike Sakura's expert ability, she soothed away the pain just as easily while he didn't have such luxuries. God how he missed her.

His hand glowed a light orange as he pressed it to his wounds, grunting as he could literally feel everything moving and shifting back to where it was supposed to be. In his opinion, it hurt more to be healed than to actually receive the injury itself. Something he remembered Sakura chuckling about charmingly as she shook her head at him, saying something along the lines of him being a wuss. He loved her then too he realized, and it warmed him as well when he saw the look of love in her eyes as well when she gazed upon him.

Kakashi knew what the blonde was thinking about as he watched his wounds fade from existence. It was in his eyes and soon going down his face. His expression was blank as he cried, red streaking and marring his cheeks as they dropped faster and faster. The silver haired man didn't know what triggered it, this sort of response from the blonde was rare, and rarer still for him to be the one to witness it. He figured he should be honored to see such a thing, relieved to see that indeed Naruto's emotions had survived the aftermath of his personality reconstruction. He surmised that if it were Neji in his place then the man wouldn't have seen anything.

The blood running out of Naruto's eyes burned slightly. The liquid didn't mix well with the natural tear duct fluids and created a sensation that was unpleasant to him. He willed them away and they left, using his fist to wipe away the evidence that left a damning trace down both of his cheeks. He only allowed himself to have a moment to break down, to unwravel and be weak, taking Sakura's words of advice to heart and living by it.

_The moment you stop allowing yourself to feel Naruto, is the moment when your heart will forever be lost to your family, and to me. Remember this well, you have many people relying on you._

He had frowned at her then, not knowing nor seeing the implications of her words for what they were so long ago. She had told him that right before she left for her mission, the one she came back from but didn't survive.

_And what about you Sakura? Things have changed since that time we left, and not since then have I seen you shed a tear...what about your heart?_

She smiled at him then, a sight that their friends hadn't seen in a very long time, her green eyes sparkling before she leaned in to kiss him. It was gentle yet demanding, but still sweet and had took the blonde's breath away. She was only this way with him, and he was happy that even though she was cold and indifferent to those around her, she couldn't find it in herself to treat him the same. Her fingers wound in his hair while his own settled on her hips, one lowering to the outer most part of her thigh as he leaned her back flush against his sheets.

Sakura went to him before she left for her mission that fateful day. It was customary for the blonde to see her off and after he heard how dangerous the mission really was and that she wouldn't be accompanied by her squad, he almost didn't want to. After changing his mind and getting out of his bed to shrug on simple dark pants, he headed downstairs to find breakfast before a knock on his door made him stop and walk towards it. He opened the door and there she was, the sunlight hitting her back and bouncing off of her and lighting up her hair. Beautiful, however, whatever fire he felt ignite inside of him at the sight of her was quickly doused when he met her eyes. He visibly winced at her intense stare and cynical gaze, eyes not quite dull but alight with darkness and reality. When he stepped aside to let her in and she passed by, he noticed with a slight smile that her hair had grown longer, and she had yet to cut it again. It was down to her lower back then and fell in soft waves as if she had just taken it out of a braid. She spun around to face him then and he had struggled to refrain himself from kissing her when he saw the look on her face. Her face and eyes had lit up and the smile that graced her face was for him and him alone...

_I can't stay, _she had told him as they laid together, naked and pressed against each other, his hand playing in strands of her hair,_ you'll see me again Naruto-kun._

But she never said when..

* * *

Brown eyes snapped open as soon as the sound resonated with the air over the entire village. His feet touched the floor on the side of his bed immediately as he rushed to the window, frowning as multiple birds in the distance were disturbed enough to abruptly fly away. Eyes turning downward, he noticed the civilians that were out and about stopping in the midst of what ever they were doing to stare in the direction they knew where the sound was coming from, even their children stopped and stared as the atmosphere around them grew into something fierce. Shit. He knew the outcome of such an event, and the sooner he could get in contact with Shikamaru the faster they can put a tight lid over this dangerous situation. Knowing that man, he was probably already at the Hokage tower putting actions into motion. He would know for sure once he goes there himself.

He quickly dressed in a pair of loose hanging dark pants, and shrugged on a rather tight fitting navy blue muscle shirt. Vaguely he wondered why he even owned clothing like the one that now covered and gripped tightly at his pectorals and triceps before lightly shoving that thought on the back burner of his mind and stepping away from the window and towards the nook space where he kept an impressive and unique collection of books at his diposal. He knelt down in the center of the space and bit into his thumb hard enough to draw blood, drawing a hasty circle in the middle of the floor before instantly looking up and seeing the familiar interior of the Hokage tower.

Kiba stood and turned face to face with Shikamaru who seemed to be waiting for him on the far wall across from him. He smirked at his correct assumption as he approached the calm man.

"I've already sent out a rather large patrol unit composed of jounin and chuunin. Yuugao is handling preparations with replacing border patrol jounin with anbu and I can only guess what Towa is up to. Neji and Kakashi are with Naruto in Suna and Ino is waiting for us in his office"

Kiba nodded at the intel, pleased that Shikamaru would share any kind of information with him when he was under no obligation to do so. Unlike his own position, Nara had flexibility and wasn't at constant risk of that position due to advisors. He was an ambassador, and was placed higher on the administrative totem pole than any of them were. Getting in that man's pocket was a highly favorable and sought after place, one that even Hinata wanted, but was denied due to Shikamaru having a mind of his own and being a genius. She couldn't manipulate him to her will nor could she get him to join her willingly, because a willing pawn was more useful than a brainless one. It was then that the Nara and himself came to the same conclusion which was that the most comfortable spot on the playing board was the side of neutrality, which led them to a sort of truce and cooperation. Kiba smirked at his one up position over Hinata.

Speaking of said woman, he wondered where she was now. Knowing her she was probably off somewhere with Sasuke trying to turn him into the perfect pawn. Sooner or later that idiot would realize the truth about that girl, there was a distinct reason why he no longer mixed with her, and it was because she was a compulsive, passionate liar. The concept of loyalty was ingrained in his mind ever since he was a young child, and to see the woman so brazenly throw the meaning of that to hell more or less disgusted him.

Originally the Inuzuka existed for the sole purpose of being Konoha's most loyal protecters. To protect and serve. It was their main objective and basically what they built their lives around. It was customary that every male heir to the clan imprinted the Hokage, a strong and powerful bond that only clan members of the Inuzuka could establish. However, once Kiba became heir, he found himself at disdain with the concept of being that emotionally attached to someone that wasn't his mate. Surprisingly the elders of his clan took the news well when he announced he wouldn't be imprinting Naruto, however they warned him of his instincts becoming more or less overwhelming because he was putting off his right as a leader that was suppose to happen immediately. He heeded their words then and still did to this day, however he wished they would've used the word unbearable in reference to his instincts instead of overwhelming.

It had first hit him when the blonde began his training to become Hokage, Kakashi filling in the role and teaching him while said blonde continued to go out on Anbu missions at the same time. Kiba had been anbu too, and for awhile Kakashi repeatedly paired him with Sakura and Naruto and their respective squad. Sakura was Naruto's lieutenant, and also led a small four man unit of her own when she was given solo missions and he had realized after a couple of months of working beside them that he felt an irrational irritation toward her. He found himself wanting her second in command spot next to Naruto and ultimately felt like it was his right to have it. Later on he reminded himself that it was his instincts that wanted such a thing and not him. The decision on placement was ultimately up to Naruto anyway.

Soon his instinct branched into desire for Sakura as much as he felt as if he should loathe her. He adored her as a comrade but he knew his feelings didn't naturally go beyond that. It was her attributes that sparked his instincts in the first place, she was powerful, beautiful, and smart. Not to mention she protected her own with a ferociousness that sometimes ignited a lustful intent in him. But that's all it was...his _instincts_.

When he recieved news she died, it was like losing someone out of the pack, he had lost his beta (what his instincts claimed as his beta) and friend and took it hard. Once Naruto became Hokage, he had the anbu group disbanded, and Kiba as one of his advisors. It was nice to know that after such an emotional blow that he wasn't forgotten and Naruto knew what it would do to him should he forget. Either way Kiba was grateful to the blonde, knowing that it could've gotten bad for him if not for Naruto picking him as an advisor. He owed the guy.

"What could Ino possibly want from us?"

By this point, the two men were walking towards the Hokage office, a whole floor above them before they actually got there.

Shikamaru shoved his hands in his pockets, "She's supposed to be keeping a close eye on the hospital right about now, but she said that there was something she wanted to discuss with both of us first. I have no idea what so don't even ask"

"We don't have time to sit around and talk," the Inu gave him a pointed look, "we all have roles to play here while Naruto isn't present to call the shots"

The ambassador took one look at Kiba and rolled his eyes, the Inuzuka's blinding faith in their Hokage almost becoming unbearable, "Ino isn't stupid. While she does have somewhere to be she wouldn't just leave her post unattended to. I'm sure she has someone capable looking over things. I do agree with you however on the fact that she can't afford to keep this conversation going anywhere exceeding ten minutes. We all have to be on guard for when mass hysteria starts to settle in."

Kiba nodded and looked up, surprised to see that they were closer to the office than he originally thought. He felt Ino's familiar invasive chakra signature and slightly bristled. Ino had a cruel sort of intelligence about her that sort of painted her in a mad doctor kind of light. She conducted her work professionally and swiftly, but when it came to finding anything new such as poisons or diseases she took on a kind of perverse interest. It was unsettling, but Kiba could deal with it more than most people. He glanced at Shikamaru and wondered vaguely if the man thought the same, the tightness in his shoulders could mean anything.

Said man opened the door leading into the office and shut it quietly behind them. Kiba didn't bother moving over to his desk, considering it far too close to the blonde as she spun around lazily in Naruto's chair. Shikamaru cleared his throat once it was apparant that Ino wasn't going to say anything and languidly she drew her eyes to both of them, the expression on her face far from bored.

"As _crazy_ as this may sound," she paused, gathering her words and trying to smother the gleam in her eye, "this may be the best thing that has ever happened to the Leaf"

* * *

_Somewhere in the past..._

Eyes the same as a dark abyss stared intently at the pretty and ornate treasure that was the grave in front of him. He could quite literally taste the tears that had been shed for the person eternally sleeping in that box, and what a beautiful thing she had been when she was alive and breathing. Although the light had long since faded from her eyes that faithful time back then when he had first went to them and told them the truth about the future they were going to lead, she had done everything to change something that was inevitable. It was admirable, and the main reason why he loved humans in the first place and why he was even there.

Ever since his arrival into that world he found himself bound to this place specifically because of one of his multiple past lives refusing to let it go, as if it would cease to exist should he stray too far and neglect it. He had to remind that version of himself however, that their role from that point on was to progress the course and destination of fate and that it wasn't in their power to change anything. To do that, no matter how small the change, went against their whole existence and should they do that they would cease to be for a couple hundred years like last time. It wasn't entirely pleasant either, ceasing to exist that was.

It was late. No human would be up and about at this hour, and even if they were they wouldn't be this far out of their civilization. He looked up at the sky then, shutting his black eyes as rain pelted him. No human would be out in this torrent weather either. Black clouds blanketed the sky and rolled into imposing forms, thunder shook the space around him, violent winds threatened to tear him apart, and lightening flashed across the sky. It was all almost too much for him. The beauty of it all. The equailty in destructive nature, the despair of humans, and the loveliness in death.

He approached the box slowly, shadows moving and wrapping its tendrils around him as a familiar and potent stench permeated the space where his feet glided across the ground. The grass wilted and turned to ash and the fresh flowers that surrounded the beautiful box wilted in the wind, causing them to curl up and into themselves as if trying to run away from his presence. His hand lightly touched the surface of the body-sized object, marveling slightly at its smoothness underneath his fingertips, and the foul odor of an empty carcass rushing up to meet him. A small smile graced his lips as the soul lingered, wondering and pondering, slowly but surely driving itself insane at the new questions that arose. Pale fingers found the latch, and the seals and barriers meant nothing to him as he reached for her. Her face was turned up, gorgeously pale with slightly hallowed cheeks and closed eyes, hands drawn up and crossed over each other at a meek attempt in peace after death, her mouth closed and blue, and the lovely white, lace dress that flowed down to her bare feet. Slowly he ran his digits lightly above her cheekbones and down her throat, pausing at the small dip there and stopping at the swell of her sunken breasts. He surmised she hadn't been dead long, as her pink locks had indeed began to lose its vibrancy but failing to fall away from her scalp at the moment. He wasn't present for her death, but from what he could gather from the scars deeply imbedded in her hard, porcelain flesh, was that her death had been far from pleasant. The violence done onto her seemed to indicate a grudge, or some deeply rooted hate. Beautiful all the same.

A beautiful, heartbreaking woman.

He bent down over her face and breathed in her dead scent, his black strands of hair lightly caressing her chest as he slightly grew somewhat pleased at the sight of a flustered soul hovering near him, before leaning down to take her lips as if she would suddenly wake up and start kissing him back. He parted her unyielding lips of stone with his tongue, rigor mortis making the feat near difficult as the long appendage reached down her throat. What a delightful soul. He was almost tempted to devour what was left, his hunger hadn't been satiated for quite some time as he envisioned what it would feel like going down his throat.

Black veins sprouted from where his mouth joined her's and he waited patiently for the desired reaction to take effect. A resounding _crack_ met his ears and with a poof, her body collapsed, turning into dust as if she were nothing but sand spilling out from a shattered glass. He withdrew his tongue from the pile and it returned from where it came, a bit of debris sticking to it. He smirked wickedly at his handiwork, but soon that disappeared once he was met with the sight of the slight sparkles in the dust being something more beautiful than he could've possibly imagined and finding himself cherishing the sight. He reached for about a handful of the sand and brought it to his lips, tilting his head back and devouring every last grain. It went down harshly as expected but he couldn't find it in himself to complain now, he still had a task to finish.

Black orbs glanced at the open casket getting comletely flooded with water, the remains of the woman turning into mud and washing away before he reaching up closing it with a resounding _thud_.

* * *

**A/N**: I just wanted to please you guys and kick this out earlier than most of you probably expected. I can't wait to read reviews, please feed me, I'm hungry.

Also on another note, I wanted to address the wants for Sakura's appearance. I'm not trying to rush this plot in any way shape or form. I'm trying to keep my muse for this alive so I don't lose interest and leave you guys hanging. Her appearance will come all in good time, just wait on it. If i'm really going to predict when it will, it may be awhile. Like in the description of the story, its five years (right?) after her death that rumors of her sighting start to spread. As of now we are at the two and a half year mark.


	10. Chapter 10

_¿Et tu brute?  
As it may seem, I may just be betrayed  
by the ones I thought stood behind me  
instead, their knives and daggers were glistening  
...and I did not know._

* * *

The blonde, now in perfect health, stood at the mouth of a cave with his two pairs of watchful eyes behind him. The size of the natural shelter was large enough to fit a medium sized embassy and it saddened Naruto to see that only half of it was filled up with cowering figures of sand civilians, hardly any of them being children and the rest of the population consisting of sand anbu and regular shinobi of ranks he did not know.

Neji had rejoined the group shortly after Kakashi and the blonde reached the peak of the sloped canyon wall to get to the large crater above. Words were never exchanged between the intense Hokage and the wary Hyuuga, but the tension that settled heavily into the air was thick enough for Kakashi to grab and hang onto.

As soon as the trio appeared, they were surrounded by sand shinobi, accusatory questions being hurled at them left and right with no means of escape, and yet none of them bat an eyelash at the hostile auras surrounding said shinobi. It was only natural for them to feel that way. They needed someone or something to blame, it was more practical to believe another village brought them to their knees than some phantom beast, it sounded less crazy too. Who exactly would believe them? It was hard enough trying to swallow the fact that the tailed beasts even existed, and it took multiple eye-witnesses and half of Konoha to be destroyed for that story to even be heard with believing ears.

Naruto's eyes searched the fray for Gaara or at least his brother while the men in front of them continued to bombard him with questions he had no intention of answering. As he expected, Kakashi took charge of the situation, attempting to answer their queries one at a time with his usual polite eye crinkle. Unfortunately, it only served to ignite their flames a little more and seeing as his good cop persona failed, Kakashi scratched the back of his head and hoped Neji would step in to fill up the gaps. His affinity for killing people far outweighed his political one and the former wouldn't help any of them right now.

Living up to expectations, Neji was less than polite, caustic even, and such brass surprised Kakashi while Naruto more or less spaced out and left his thinking space to more important matters.

"Temari's memories only served as a reference point for Gaara's last location, but he could've always moved somewhere else...though I don't think he would do that given what all has happened"

Naruto's mouth moved but made no sound, earning him a questionable look from some of the less aggressive sand shinobi standing there. If he wasn't so distracted from what was going on he would've felt inclined to shoot the younger man a look that said to keep his nose out of his business.

One of Kurama's eyes languidly opened, he seemed to sleep a lot more often than not lately, "I think it's quite obvious to you now that he's not here, but he was and he couldn't have gone far."

Naruto visibly frowned, "Then where—

"If no-tails doesn't want to be found then he won't be. Out of all of us, he was the one that isolated himself from the group, sometimes disappearing to lands we never even knew existed. The stench of his anxiety practically coats this places in waves of unease. Just know that his host wouldn't leave this many precious lives unattended and unguarded while he's away. If my senses weren't so dulled by all this sand, I would be able to tell you how many chakra signature and movement detectors were around the base and on top of these canyons, but alas...the sand inhaled into your body as of right now is interfering with my nose."

"Then he should know I'm here already and is on his way. All that's left to do now is to wait for his return." The blonde gave Kakashi a look once one of the many sand shinobi threw him a rather perculiar expression that was less than professional.

Kurama paused for a moment, his silence meaning something far deeper than words, "And is that a good idea?"

The blonde rolled his shoulders slightly, working his muscles out of their soreness from his recent fall, "Do you know something I don't?"

"It is impossible for one such as yourself to play coy with me when we are one in the same. Your secret army cannot take on the world, your faith in them will only lead to the destruction of your village."

Azure eyes narrowed, "My faith in them doesn't blind me. It's because of them that I could get to Suna when I could, besides...I won't be here long."

Kurama sighed, the action rumbling the chains that wrapped around his neck, and making the murky waters beneath him distort and move. The kid was biting off more than he could chew, and he was afraid that he wouldn't see reason considering his host thought his home was indestructible. Those monsters (something that even Kurama considered surprising coming from him) inside of the red army were _unstable_, luckily the kid kept their leashes unbearably short and suffocating, even now he knew what they were doing and whom they were speaking to—all of them. They may be loyal to his host until death, but that same loyalty did not stretch towards the village as well. If anything, they despised the place and every civilian in it, a jealous sort of attachment to Naruto making them snarl at the village the blonde holds dear. It took all of his attention away from them, and at least half of them wished to destroy it despite Naruto's cold warnings. The others considered the Leaf with a cruel sort of indifference. They wouldn't bat an eyelash while watching the whole thing burn to the ground with all of its laughing children and mothers inside. Unless ordered they wouldn't lift a hand.

Kurama knew that his blonde host knew this, what he knew the boy knew unless he specifically wanted otherwise, and there were many things Naruto didn't know. Such knowledge would probably lead to the kid's destruction, and then Kurama would be set free. It wouldn't be real freedom however. He would always feel that nagging sense of loneliness and betrayal if Naruto ever drew his last breath, and he couldn't have that. He _wouldn't_ have that.

Even knowing that there were certain events that were coming to pass and that it may irrevocably change his village and his people forever, he still chose to risk all of that for one man. Kurama didn't know if it was love, blinding devotion, or obsession. His host was becoming an enigma even to him.

The beautifully furred red fox receeded further into his golden prison, enshrowding his long limbs in darkness and making the watery depths beneath him tremor with his massive size. Clawed hands made their way to one specific destination that couldn't be seen casually in the darkness, despite this, red-gold eyes gazed on into the abyss in an almost familiar and fond manner until he reached it...that small little light in the distance that was nearly engulfed by the blackness around it. Getting closer to it, he stopped and looked down, the small tv in front of his foot being no bigger than a speck to his vantage point. He sat on his haunches, still towering over the thing, and leaned down to meet it face to face, his muzzle barely touching it as the light from the device managed to shine directly into his right eye. The sudden light was quite invasive to his sensitive sight and he squinted before widening his eye to let in more light, and with a sigh he was able to see everyone gathered in a circle.

His breath came out in steam from his nose as he assumed the leader position for the meeting, his gaze meeting each and every single tailed beasts' eyes, "Good evening everyone."

Naruto looked up from the spot he seemed to be staring at on the far opposite wall of the cave. Azure eyes finally seemed to take in anything and everything around him for the second time that night, noting the frightened civilians again, the absence of children, and the absence of Gaara. Something told him he was on his way, he had to know that he was here already and ready to protect the rest of Suna with his life if need be.

Neji was by the mouth of the cave with a speck of other Suna shinobi, on guard Naruto surmised, while he and Kakashi were more towards the heart of the cave, albeit sectioned off from the villagers by sheer aura alone. Looking at them closely, the blonde noticed that not a lot of them were injured, most untouched as if they were just woken out of their sleep. It seemed as though the beast hardly marked anyone. It was either kill them and eat them, or spare—not even that—but pass over, not worthy...something predatory along those lines.

Some reared back and forth cradling their skulls, a wild look crossing their eyes, some stared into space as if in a daze they would never get out of, others cried out in a strangled, blood-curdling way for their loved ones, their names echoing off their lips in a sad song, and more stared at nothing giggling maniacally, their eyes wide and glazed and moving around erratically. Naruto turned away. There wasn't much left of Suna, and it made his heart twist painfully.

"According to some of the jounin, Gaara left about an hour ago with no explanation as to why or where he was going," Kakashi leaned on the same wall Naruto sat against, "his brother was meant to stay here as a leader for the rest of the group, but after a few minutes he began to look anxious and left after the kazekage."

The blonde didn't have to look at the jounin to let him know he had his full attention. His eyes were still gliding over the heads of the civilians and resting on the small group of Anbu that survived with their shining black, porcelain masks. He frowned at the thought of Kankuro leaving these people to their own devices in fear of Gaara's state of mind. As logical as it was to run after a distraught jinchuuriki, he should've known that out of all people he could calm the red-head down. Clearly more than half of the people here were quickly descending into madness, the subtle hum of insanity bordering along the lines of roaring the more time ticked on, and Kankuro had the audacity to leave them alone. He should count himself lucky not coming back to discover the rest of the villagers had killed each other to the Suna shinobis' horrors. There isn't much they can do when all of them were nearing chakra exhaustion and about fifteen of them passed out from the same thing.

The more Naruto looked at the situation, the more he cringed at the thought of sticking around a moment longer than he felt was truly necessary, Gaara and the blonde's love for Suna being the only reason why he was rooted to his spot.

"At this point I honestly have no idea what could've happened to him [Kankuro], it's very likely that he's dead one of two ways," Naruto sighed heavily, the thought itself disgusting him, "the beast may have gotten to him, or Gaara may have killed him with his emotional instability. Though I sincerely doubt the latter, it may be a possibility in this case."

Kakashi stroked his chin in thought, the unhinged minds of Suna's civilians making him tense with nervousness, "I don't think after the death of his sister he would leave Kankuro unattended if he knew he was following after him. He should be on high alert by this point in time."

Naruto subtly nodded, thinking the same thing as he watched Neji from the corner of his eye, "Was that all that was told to you while I spoke to Kurama?"

The jounin's eyebrows rose in slight surprise, so thats what he was doing, "No it wasn't, but more importantly what did he have to say? I'm sure he had an interesting comment on tonight's affairs."

"Despite his obvious amusement towards mortal turmoil, he's taking this whole beast thing in a seriousness I didn't think he could possess. Usually he would chuckle at the ideas humans would make up, but he isn't laughing this time, and the punch line doesn't involve the phantom."

Kakashi surmised he should've been wary, frightened even, but a strong emotion like fear had long ago sucked in his anxiety and replaced a sort of willingness there, "So now it's confirmed. The phantom beast is as real as any of us now. Will you call a summit?"

The blonde sighed deeply. It was no secret that he hated summits with a passion. Those meetings where he often had to put a leash on himself and reign back his emotions when it came to the flip mouths of other nation leaders, that Mizukage being the main one to irk more than one of his nerves with that attitude of her's. It almost got to the point when he almost declared war on her whole village just to shut her up. He knew how much of a frightening opponent he could be, which was why other nations hardly antagonized him unless they felt the need to, but that Mizukage seemed to dance and stomp on his hands. He mentally pat himself on the back for showing such restraint.

Usually Kiba and Shikamaru would accompany him to summits, choosing to stand behind him rather than beside him as most other nation leaders had their advisors set up that way, but for this sort of topic he was going to bring to the table he may just need Ino. Her political prowess made her a force to be reckon with, not to mention give undisputed arguments that few could find faults in except for either Shikamaru or Kiba, and her cold tongue could duke it out with the Mizukage all she wanted for all Naruto cared. However, it was unfortunate that he would have to call forth this meeting considering whoever did had to act as the current leader of said meeting. He didn't mind that aspect of it too much, he just hated the trouble of it all that came with it, the whole thing was just a giant nuisance he would be forced to deal with.

"I have to. Concealing this kind of information from the alliance will rise more trouble than it's worth. I'm the only one who would have access to this information and relay the message to the alliance at the same time. The others haven't been too forthcoming as of late anyway and that's not my problem, however, it's my responsibility that somebody in power knows something as crucial as this."

Kakashi shot the blonde a pitying smile, genuinely feeling bad for the kid and all of his responsibilities. He vaguely wondered if the old Naruto would've still taken up the title if he knew what all the future had entailed. Then again Kakashi surmised that the blonde really didn't have a choice since the beginning.

* * *

_In a village filled with snow, a maiden kneels by a frozen lake..._

Pale, ivory flesh, smooth to the touch, hard as bone, and about as thick as concrete itself. From afar, her beauty was ethereal but seemed frighteningly out of place, something very nice to gaze upon from great distance, but terrifying the more the onlooker got close.

And speaking of onlookers, a young female child, just a girl, was starting to realize this fact.

Something very human, yet primal, was bursting through the seams in the young babe's conscious. Something that warned the girl that she had stumbled onto something that should not exist, or be in their world and her curiosity was rooting her to the spot she stood. She was hardly covered by the frozen underbrush that reached over her pretty, young head at that and she vaguely wondered why such alarms were ringing between her ears in the first place, it was just a pretty onna kneeling by a frozen over lake.

The girl's breath caught and her teeth clenched as a biting chill swept through the air like a freshly polished blade. It hit the exposed parts of her flesh and a soft curse rang from her tightly pressed lips like a prayer. Her father, being the head of their village, was quite wealthy, but was very cheap when it came to his money and curse him for not getting her the adequate type of deep winter clothing! Speaking of clothing, the girl noticed something else about the mysterious onna that struck a fearful chord inside of her.

Her black yukata with silver and white koi designed onto it, simmering silver obi, and traditional wooden geta.

The biggest cause of death in her village was hypothermia, even murder and other such crimes were low because of the harsh conditions, and here this woman, with her exotic hair matching the same color as hydrangea, and beautiful yukata was out in the open encirclement very much alive and unaffected by the deathly chill. She almost seemed frozen in time kneeling like that without moving.

This wasn't right. Something wasn't right with her.

The girl, smart for her age, took a step back, her primal and human instincts kicking into overdrive..._snap_.

Her heart could've stopped, and her breath held so fast and so hard that she swayed slightly on her feet with nausea and light-headedness. She never took her eyes off that woman, and to her relief she didn't seem to notice nor hear the absolute obliteration of the twig underneath the girl's feet. It hadn't been that loud either. The two were quite a bit of distance from each other, and the howl of the increasing wind made thought processes hard to hear without some amount of effort. After ten minutes of absolute nothing, the girl softly closed her eyes and sighed deeply in relief, her comformity making those alarm bells silence and warmth spread through her limbs. She wasn't noticed. Something just told her that she wouldn't want that onna's attention, and it would probably do well for her to leave now. Her father never approved of her venturing far from the village anyhow.

She opened her eyes, glad to see that her eyelashes hadn't stuck to the tops of her cheeks only to find that same onna in front of her. Her breath caught once more, her heart leaping to her throat, and her own fear choking off her scream.

* * *

Magnificent eyes gazed at the dark pool of black water high above, it's black waves rolling angrily and crashing unforgivably against the border of his world. He was tempted to reach his hands up and imagine once more that he would be able to touch it without being destroyed. His reflection stared back at him from above, the constant motion of the Black Sea turning his image into something monstrous and terrifying. It was as much as a seal as it was a giant, massive mirror that reflected exactly what the person staring at it wanted to see.

Painfully luminescent red orbs noted once more that the Black Sea stretched far across the sky above them all and no matter where he went—where any creature went—the anomaly would still be above them—mockingly so but most of all it mocked him the most. And yet still the male gazed longingly at the waters above him, not being able to bring out that roaring spitfulness he use to have during his younger years, and instead it was replaced with a curiosity and burning sense of needing to conquer. It burned him so much that it was so far out of his reach and yet seeming to be impossibly close, just enough to touch but never being able to do so.

He was alone in his grand throne room, the only place where his subjects knew, if he were to be here, he was not to be bothered. The masses of his people wouldn't feel the need to congregate around him and fight for his attention, and it was here that he could breathe his own air. If he were to be among his people, then it was a known fact that he would be the only one staring at it, and such weakness could only show when he was completely alone. Truly he was a selfish and greedy creature. The world he was in now simply wasn't enough.

The black waters churned and soon they began to part in the form of a ravenous whirlpool , a startling sight if he had not been so use to being greeted by the vision due to his trusted envoy having the ability to travel back and forth. Speaking of his trusted ally, there he was in all his grace descending from the sky in his true form that was so unlike the forms that he was use to seeing. He watched as wings just as black as the murky surface above sprouted from his back and rest once his ally was on his feet in front of his throne.

Red orbs noticed that even here, in this land of death, his ally still caused more decay and ruin. As if his home and kingdom wasn't wasted enough, it almost angered him, but such a thing was out of the dark one's control. The man below him stood tall and lean, wearing nothing flashy, as his profession had no need for such things, while he was surrounded with rusted over golds and jewels , treasures the world above would never know, yet on his person only laid two pieces of jewelry. A dark as blood, ruby ring that occupied his left pinky and the crown of kings lying lazily on the side of his head that he didn't usually sport.

He was a tyrant king that has the world yet still wants more.

"I have planted our seed. Your portal will be born soon enough."

His voice sounded like multiple ones all speaking at once. If he had been a lesser creature he surmised the grating sound would've intimidated him, but he also knew that the dark being in front of him had the ability to change the sound of his voice to nails on a chalkboard or to velvet running across silk. The voice he heard now was dark and powerful, something that meant nothing in the eyes of this unsatisfied king.

"How long?"

A dark eyebrow quirked, "Mighty excited for a royal such as yourself," said King wasn't pleased with the creeping undertone of amusement in the dark one's voice, "you know...it's not all it's cracked up to be up there, but I have traversed through many worlds and that one is by far the most...amusing."

The king offered no response and instead watched the decay of his lands and his throne room as well as the lack luster color of gold flake away from his grand chair, all things that he's seen before. This didn't go unnoticed by the dark one, who took no sort of pleasure in the king's well or ill-being. He only vaguely wondered why this powerful creature would want to leave the lands that were given to him by birthright, abandon the very people that lived or died simply because he asked of it, and slight the unquestioned, raw authority that he alone possessed for a world that would reject him the moment he revealed himself. He couldn't understand, couldn't fathom the very thought, yet he was intrigued. This hadn't happened before. The bloodline of royalty went back far, and none of his successors had ever desired such a thing, it was unheard of. The outcome of it all had the dark shadows surrounding him writhing in cruel excitement.

No sort of noise was made as the king rose gracefully, his tall height almost staggering from the dark one's vantage point, and slowly he descended the stone, crumbling steps leading up to his throne, knocking countless treasures and gold away from him as he descended. Any lesser being would feel mighty inclined to prostrate themselves before him, his grandness almost overwhelming in such close proximity, but he was his own enigma as well and fell from somewhere high up that once put him on a pedestal above all. That alone was what made the dark one meet the king's eyes head on. There was no challenge, no smoldering emotion, nothing, just mutual recognition. It was because of this unspoken agreement that he would be permitted to follow him anywhere and everywhere, simply because he understood their placements in this world.

"Come. I must prepare," the sounds of their synced footsteps were near non-existent, "I have to choose who will join us on this expedition."

* * *

Kiba frowned, Ino's words sparking a dangerous sort of doubt in him at the thought of the worst possible outcome for the village somehow becoming the best one. He had no idea just how fast the gears were turning in that blonde head of her's, but he could only guess that her thoughts were less than pure.

Shikamaru crossed his arms, his eyes trained harshly on the woman in front of them, "Care to explain that statement?"

The subtle smirk on her face grew. Of course she was waiting on someone to ask, Kiba thought with the roll of his eyes.

"I know that you all heard that noise outside, and it doesn't take a genius to figure out what it could be—

Shikamaru was growing impatient, "Ino. The point."

Blue eyes narrowed to slits, displeasure written all over her face at the prospect of her thunder being stolen away, "This is our opportunity to capture the thing and conduct numerous tests on it to see how it works and how it utilizes its abilities, once we do we can destroy it once and for all. The other smaller villages will look to us as their saviors."

The Inu knew where she was going with her idea, but it served more of her purposes than anyone else's, "Except no one is going to see it that way. They're going to despise us for only taking action because the danger is knocking on our front door. We didn't lift a hand when they were getting slaughtered, what's gonna change their views of us now?"

Shikamaru nodded his head in agreement, "As much as I would like to turn our political image around, I can't without Naruto's support. My hands are as tied as everyone else's"

"We don't need our image when we have the fear of the beast to use as a weapon. Nothing's better than spreading rumors when it's more than likely to be believed."

Kiba paused, this might actually be worth while, "And the other village powerhouses?"

"We can leave that to Naruto. He's the Hokage after all." She waved a flippant hand through the air to emphasize her point.

Shikamaru put a hand on his chin, obviously considering the rather crude and conniving idea, "Well it is on Leaf soil, we would have to take it into custody anyway. My only concern is capturing it and containing it. The noise we heard just now was only an indication that it was nearby, not that we would successfully be able to keep it in our general vicinity, which is a risk in and of itself."

Ino paused, most likely not taking the safety of konoha's citizens into careful consideration, Kiba should've known, "Couldn't we just issue a complete lockdown?"

"It doesn't leave chakra behind, it can't be seen, and it only needs its brute strength alone to kill shinobi and civillian alike, I don't think people's homes could stop something like that. It would only serve as another nuisance to clean up should that thing start tearing up and down the streets."

Shikamaru's words cast a sour taste in Kiba's mouth. If anyone of like emotions heard the conversation the three of them were having they would surely look at them in disgust. Surely people of such cruel ideas shouldn't be in such powerful positions, and maybe Naruto knew that, but said man couldn't necessarily point fingers considering he was cruel as well. Where did the Inu fit into all of this tyranny?

Well. Monsters should be with other monsters.

* * *

Onyx eyes blinked open groggily, flashing between sharingan and black pupils in disorientation. A loud, deep ringing was the center focus of Sasuke's concentration, and the most of the throbbing rested right on his temple. He was against showing any sort of emotions or signs that he was in pain if he could help it, but as it stood, he couldn't help gritting his teeth in utter agony.

Palms coming up from his sides, he brought them to rub soothing circles on either side of his head, the cool and soft ground underneath offering some amount of comfort to him as he did so. His vision was hazy as hell and seemed to be hastily swiveling from side to side of wherever he looked, so he opted to close them. He was, for the most part, still alive, breathing, and in well health enough to feel such pain. At some point he must've rolled off of Hinata, which explained why he didn't feel her underneath him and the ground as a substitute.

Memories of what happpened to the both of them rushed towards him like a tidal wave, and he froze in his place on the grass. He had no idea if that—that thing was still around. There was no question that even his somewhat heavy breathing had to calm, the movement itself could alert that monster, and he had no way of knowing unless one of his senses cleared up first. The only thing he could truly rely on as of now was touch and feeling, but the latter was useless now since he had to keep his movements miniscule. Chakra reserves? He had three full resevoirs at his disposal, and none of them were touched despite the horrifying incident. What he could do was use a very small bit of it to feel around with. His bloodline was what made him an excellent sensory, but without the use of his doujutsu specifically, he would have to rely on his more baser instincts to feel aroujd with. He wasn't well versed with the basic ability and sometimes it was enough to keep him alive when his sharingan was beginning to tax on him, and he was better at it than others, but his range was limited.

He started the process subtly, gently probbing the area around him inch by slow inch to get a feel of what exactly was around. A couple meters away from him was a body laying prone, on its side if he was correct. There wasn't a familiar pulse against his senses that indicated life and with slight wariness and cold sweat he ventured on. Grass. Grass. More grass and...roots? He must've reached the flower bed that surrounded the monument and if the heaviness there wasn't a sign that the oil above it did corrosive damage then he didn't know what was. A body laid amongst the midst of the flowers as well, but something was clearly very wrong. Sasuke could feel strange, awkward movements coming from it, almost like jerking or convulsion, but like the other carcass, the sense of life was not there.

With this realization dawning on Sasuke second by second, a rise of panic was grabbing him by the chest painfully, yanking his brain around, and making his overall thought process erratic and irrational. If he couldn't hear or see anything in the next point five seconds then he was burning everything around him to the ground with Amateratsu, survivors or no survivors.

And like a switch, he opened his eyes to find his line of sight cleared and stable, likewise his hearing no longer disturbed by constant ringing, and his body relaxed a bit more now that it was somewhat back to normal. Though he could now breathe a bit easier considering his vision was no longer doing loop-de-loops all over the place he still couldn't get too comfortable by making sudden movements. He noted the position of the moon and the sluggishness of his body, which more or less confused him. It hadn't been too long since he fell unconscious that his body should feel like a boulder had hit it, if anything he should feel the slightest bit achy from lying prone on the ground (which had jagged rocks in it he should add) for the maximum three hours like he had been.

Looking over to his right, he was able to release the slightest bit of breath in relief at the sight of Hinata untouched. He wouldn't go so far as to say she would be someone he deeply cared for, he couldn't even trust her, but the Uchiha would admit that it would be pretty terrible for her to be killed by something as horrible as the beast. Just imagining her being torn apart so ruthlessly and in such a vulgar way made him sick.

She laid on her back, arm across her mid-section while the other was tangled in her long, ebony hair, which was sprawled above her. Her clothes were mildly dirty, and with a frown, Sasuke realized that at some point she must've been clipped by one of the beast's claws if the decently sized wound on her shoulder wasn't indication enough. Sasuke vaguely wondered when it could've happened, surely he would've noticed. Images of her knocking him down as the phantom rushed over them flashed before his eyes and he guessed that's when the wound was made, he scoffed softly, stupid woman. What exactly was she playing at? Risking her life like that went against the ideals she put forth, the idea that everyone around her was expendable, and here she was pushing him out of the way of certain death. Maybe he was more important to her motives than she let on.

Her blood already started to clot and attempt to heal the scratch, the color of the fluid already turning into a rusty, ugly, and flaky brown. The Uchiha was just glad that was the extent of her injuries, and shaking his head at the fact that she got off lucky, himself even more so, the others...not so much.

With the responsibility of someone else's life on his back, Sasuke boldy, yet slowly sat up and looked around more. He would've whistled at the sight presented to him, and he could only think of how angry Naruto would be to come back and find his little place of peace little more than destroyed. It meant something to Kakashi as well, and Sasuke knew that if he was right about the jounin then he would finally see some real emotion on the man. The jade rock shooting out of the ground was cracked and scratched, one of the main Sakura trees literally drooped with the heavy weight of blood splattered onto it, the ground was littered with craters from the rampant beast, and the flower beds...—

Sasuke had to clench his teeth tight and reach for his throat to stop the rush of bile from making a scene and alerting his presence. There in the flower beds, was the burly man that rubbed Sasuke the wrong way, the one that could hardly contain himself, the same person with the shattered red anbu mask, and the same man that was currently being devoured from his stomach down. The beast had his massive hand steadied on the anbu's face, his jaw turned away from the rest of his skull and the bone breaking through torn, bloodied flesh. His stomach and intestines looked as if a bomb went off inside of them, pieces of it littering amongst the flowers in small piles of pink and red mush, and with a small disgusted lurch, the Uchiha noticed that even his genetalia had not been spared. The man's eyes were rolled back far enough to where the nerves, veins, and bloodwork could be seen and Sasuke couldn't understand why he didn't hear the terrible noises as soon as he came to. The crunching of bone, the ripping and shredding of flesh that sounded like cut leather, and the hungry, delighted snarls coming from the monster enjoying every part of his meal. Not too far from him was the female anbu, up in one of the Sakura trees, her body hanging lithe and broken on one of its branches. Her blood seeped into the bark and made the petals droop and wilt with the heaviness of her fluids, her flesh the same porcelain paleness as the moon itself with shades of blue. Her red anbu mask was also broken in two on the ground beneath her and to Sasuke's slight dismay he came to notice her pretty face.

It was then he knew that he had a decision to make.

He could run. He could take his chances on the idea of his speed somehow being faster than the beast's and managing to get into the village deep enough to alert some officials, while simultaneously bringing the beast into contact with the millions of people and their families within Konoha. Sasuke may have let many things grow and fester over on his conscious, some of those things treacherous and truly devious, but being the cause of the destruction of such a large amount of leaf civilians? He wasn't a hero by any means, far from being a savior, a bit of a murderer, and a full blown liar, but he refused to have the deaths of millions on his back. It was too much. Sasuke wouldn't and couldn't become his brother. He saw the clear, haunted look in his eyes while he was fighting him, and yeah that was obviously due to him destroying their family, but Sasuke would still feel the same.

He could stay and wait. He would have to rely on the slim chances that Konoha shinobi would notice something amiss and venture a little beyond the gates to find them, while he, at the same time, would pray that the beast's next interest in a meal would be either the woman up in the tree, or the broken girl laying on the ground next to the monument, and not him or the still unconscious Hinata. There was no question that the more that thing ate, the more of its strength returned. The proof of this was the slowly disappearing limbs of it, its darkened fur becoming almost translucent against the back drop of nature, before turning completely invisible to the naked eye. He was quickly and surely running out of time to make his choice, until he realized something else that threw a wrench in his whole thought process once more.

Any decision he made would affect Hinata.

If he chose to run he would have no choice but to carry her in his arms if she didn't wake up any time soon. If he was caught, the outcome was certain death. There was also the option of escaping without her and running break neck speed back into Konoha and getting someone else more suited for the situation to go back for her. They were too far for him to run all the way around the perimeter to reach someone in time and going back the way they came would surely be quicker but finding someone along the scarely populated route would take too long as well. Sasuke would rather not think about what her prestigous family would do to him should they find out he was a factor in their precious heir's death, there would be no stopping them.

With a heavy sigh he knew that he was dead either way, and whatever choice he made meant that he could either be killed by the beast and at the same time get Hinata killed as well, or he could possibly escape on his own, resulting in her death, and then being killed by her clan, or he could die alone through some odd hand of fate.

The side of his mouth twitched at the thought of his demise, fine.

He was a blur rushing over towards Hinata, picking her up with ease and situating her in his arms so he could run easier, and bolted over and up into the trees before the beast could lift his head. He didn't even look back as the haunting area behind him faded away, the smell of death and sulfur also soon becoming apart of his past the farther away from Konoha he got, and he didn't stop even when he passed over the borders that bled into another smaller village.

Unbeknownst to him, the beast disregarded the escape of his prey with little to no indication that it even noticed. It was satiated to the fullest extent of the word, so fat with the blood and muscle mass of its adversaries that it almost felt lethargic.

_It was because of this gluttonous mistake that the beast had been caught..._

* * *

A/N — This is quite possibly the first time where I've been stumped trying to figure out what to put in this area. I feel like it should be something important like pertaining to the plot, but...struggling real hard here. I hope you guys are happy with the introduction of the supernatural I've finally added. Ten chapters in and it probably feels like it's been forever huh? Well, the wait is over. Now all you guys are waiting for is Sakura's fated return, but I feel like that should've been a secret some how. This is re-make from the original so I'm sure many of you already knew that would happen but still.

For the smart ones out there—no. The psychic ones. I, pretty sure you guys already figured out who the king is, and just for that I should change him just for the sake of there being a curveball but that would hardly be fair and it would severely throw a monkey wrench into my plans for this plot.

Just beware. You guys may think it's dark now. It's about to become way shadier. Im gonna take you guys somewhere deep. I'm talking I-regret-reading-this deep. Well...perhaps not that deep but pretty darn close. Just know that this plot will continue to descend into darkness.


	11. Chapter 11

_I once dreamt a beautiful dream..._

_and once I awoke I wished..oh how I wished..._

_it was my life._

* * *

Sasuke ran and ran as if the devil was snapping at his archilles and for all he knew it was most likely true, but he'd be damned if he stopped now to find out. The world seemed to blow past him as lept from hut to house top and back down to the paved ground. To anyone else he would appear as a blur, only a sliver of himself and Hinata being able to be seen by the naked eye, and that person would question whether they really saw him or not. He didn't care, his priority was finding a safe place for him and the Hyuuga.

Onyx eyes spotted a inn on the outskirts of the small village he ran through and he assumed it wasn't too populated based on the lack of movement and life save for a few. Again his conscious was confronted with the idea of potentially getting these people killed. Having the beast sniffing the two of them out was a real possibility and there was a better chance of him escaping once again than the commoners themselves.

He scowled.

It was either the small amount of people here or possibly half the Leaf village. He shook his head at the latter, he couldn't and he wouldn't, and he would ask for forgiveness later...whatever god that would give it to him.

His feet landed with a soft tap on top of a branch of a tree large enough and sturdy enough to support his weight as well as Hinata's. Down below them was a medium sized establishment, an inn he assumed, and he released a breath he hadn't known was in such captivity in the first place. The oppressive feeling he now associated with the beast was nowhere to be found and he thanked his lucky stars that he somehow managed to save his ass and the woman's in his arms, if only temporarily. This would give him enough time to think on his mext move, and with that sort of opportunity he would figure out something. He was a thinker at heart, a do-er last, this kind of method making him seem quite undecisive to the eyes of other people. When he fought he did those two things at the same time, worrying about the consequences and his wounds later, and when he was consumed by madness and destruction (he still kinda was by the madness part, albeit slightly touched) he wasn't thinking. At all. But this beast ensured that he did. It made sure that he thought about everything he did before he did it and how it could involve the Hyuuga. Something definitely non-human humanized him to an extent he probably wouldn't make it back from, this whole thing would change him. He hated change, and he hated how it affected him and his thoughts. His mind was fragile and his fuse was hilariously short, change to anything he deemed unchangeable struck a fear in him that had him stumbling away from such a thing. Like his strength for example that was proven worthless in the eyes of the phantom.

He shifted slightly and Hinata's head lolled to the crook of his elbow, her breath coming out slightly labored and shallow. He watched her pale chest to memorize her breathing pattern and frowned. At best she had a cold, at worst the flu, and at worst case scenario bronchitis, but he wasn't that frigid bitch Ino and he wasn't Sakura so he had no way of knowing what she had for sure. He looked at the inn with determined eyes and leapt down, crouching slightly to cushion his fall and Hinata's weight. Her hair was half falling over his arm and half bunched against his chest, it was almost annoying to him to how one female could have so much hair, even his mother kept her hair at adequate length, and he realized that most of her hair was the main factor adding to her weight which was making it irritating for him to carry her. What if her damn hair got snagged on a tree or something if he had to make a quick escape again? She had better wake up soon.

He looked up at the inn again and figured it looked pretty nice for its size and shifted Hinata so that she was on his back instead of in his arms. It wouldn't look very good if he walked in asking for a room with an unconscious girl in his arms, at least on his back it would seem as if he was trying to help her or something. He leaned forward some and hoisted her further up his back to make the action easier, once again grumbling about the mass of her hair while grabbing underneath her thighs to assist him in lifting her up. Two impressive mounds pressing against his back as her arms fell over his shoulders had him stiffening and slightly turning red in the face, he cursed his male horomones and threw a glare at an elderly man staring at him with a curious look in his eye. The swirl of his sharingan had the man scurrying along and Sasuke took his departure as his cue to hurry up and buy a room before he attracted more unwanted attention. He ventured forward, Hinata bouncing a little on his back, and pushed away the flaps that led inside the inn.

It was cozy inside. Small. Warm. But most importantly inconspicuous. It took him all of fifteen seconds to scan the room as well as the woman at the desk who was staring at him and even less to approach that same woman and ask for a room with a seriousness that seemed to make her stand straighter. She was soft spoken and quaint, average height, average appearance, and a civilian at that, she could fall off the face of the earth and no one would ever know type of girl, and Sasuke knew he could take advantage of that because she believed it so.

Her eyes immediately roamed over him as soon as he approached the desk, brown eyes alighting as they fell on his attire. He wore a rugged, dark, navy blue vest that was sleeveless and opened up to show his chest, which was wrapped partially. His matching colored pants were slightly baggy, but light enough to not cause a hindrance should he feel the need to fight, and the sandals were a dead giveaway to his shinobi background. The only thing missing from the ensemble was his hitai-ate, which he hadn't put on in years and was somewhere in the world. Sasuke had no intention of looking for it either.

Her eyebrows furrowed as she continued her search for anything that indicated where he was from but she gave up when she found nothing, the only thing left sparking her fancy being the peak of a brand on his neck that was a bright red and most likely irritated. She recognized the curve of the symbol that told he was Anbu, she surmised he belonged somewhere and just didn't represent his home, which was odd. It was enough to make her wary.

She bit her bottom lip nervously and asked, "F-for two?" She tried hard not to stare at the pretty girl on his back.

He remained silent, staring at an attribute of her's that reminded him of someone he would probably never forget. His eyes were narrowed on this sole part of her that probably filled the girl with constant anxiety and for some reason he couldn't look away as memories assaulted him. It was tragic how such a small thing could throw him back to the years of his youth when he was genin and things were simpler.

The girl's forehead was a bit too large for her face.

He looked away, still not responding to her question, and then considering it not worthy enough for an answer. It was quite obvious.

She blushed in embarrassment, "Separate beds then."

"How much?" He inquired since it didn't seem like she had the nerve to request payment from him.

She seemed to jump at the sound of his voice, "Five hundered yen."

Sasuke took note of some of the run-down parts of the building and the slight infestation of insects, the Hyuuga woman would probably have an anerysum. The price was reasonable enough. He went to dig into his pocket, letting go of Hinata's leg and having it dangle by his side before the frantic waving of the lobby girl made him stop.

He raised an eyebrow at her and waited for her to speak.

"Please don't exert yourself. Just pay once you set her down and get to your room."

He made no indication he had even heard her and watched as she picked up a set of keys and nearly jogged out of her little navy blue office towards the door that separated the lobby from her work space. Onyx eyes watched as she brisked by, keys jangling, and taking steps up two at a time and slowly he followed behind her, mindful of the narrow staircase and Hinata's feet.

His feet found the landing at the top of the carpeted stair and he relaxed a little more as comfortable air swept through the wooden corridor and met his face. Onyx eyes soon met with the average looking girl unlocking a nearby room for him and opening the door, waiting patiently for him to walk through the threshold so she could hand him the keys. He walked past her with Hinata and dumped the Hyuuga on the closest bed he approached. He gave her a quick once over as she laid down, finding that her breathing was coming out smoother now that she was comfortably laying on her back. Feeling a bit relaxed himself now that the extra weight was off of him, he approached the girl still waiting at the door for him. He noticed her gaze sweeping over Hinata appreciatively and he raised an eyebrow, clearing his throat to get her attention. She jumped and her face colored as she turned her attention to him, taking him in while standing in front of him for the first time. Sasuke watched her eyes sweep all over him, lingering on his muscles and chest, strong jawline, and masculine yet lithe form. It made him swell a little with pride and smugness, but he had other things to ponder over that didn't involve an average, plain girl with an overtly large forehead.

He shoved a hand into his pocket to pull out the money he owed, not surprised to find the girl's eyes trained on his actions like a hawk only for her tense shoulders to relax at the sight of money. She began to count as soon as it was in her hands and it was with a swiftness that made Sasuke question what she did at night. Once figuring out the amount was a little more than what was necessary, she gave him a questioning look to which he gestured towards Hinata lying on the bed not too far away.

Of course he was paying her extra for her silence. It only made sense. What he was doing with that girl was none of her business and the Uchiha liked it that way. The young girl turned on her heel, long hair swishing, and departed while muttering something along the lines of enjoying their stay.

Once she was out of sight was the only time Sasuke felt the heavy and omnious atmosphere settling along the halls of the inn that had nothing to do with the phantom that could possibly be lurking around somewhere. He didn't know where it stemmed from, or why exactly it made him feel on edge, but he knew that the possible danger here was nothing compared to the one he previously encountered. That fact in itself made him calm and he observed other things that struck his fancy, like how the inside of the place seemed bigger than it did on the outside. He looked from one end of the corridor to another, noting the overall silence of the place and how it seemed as if they, plus the lobby girl, were the only souls there. He also noticed writing on the wall not too far from him, and with slight curiosity, he read the writing only to be wary once he was done. He really hated his undying need to explore things sometimes.

The writing was a play on words involving the name of the establishment which was Satsuki Inn. It read: _Satsujin_ Inn.

Great. Just what he needed. And the punchline wasn't funny at all.

* * *

_Once upon a time, a long time ago..._

_There once was a king, whose land was filled with snow..._

_This king's curiosity couldn't be quelled..._

_And staying in his kingdom was his own hell..._

_The queen, his wife, was happy, but never said a word_

_But honestly she thought his obsession was absurd..._

_The sky above banned him from being free..._

_But no one could overcome this except for the king..._

Somewhere he heard these words before_, _but he couldn't remember where. There was something important about them but once again his memory failed him as to what, his head hurt just trying to figure it all out. He listened on to maybe get an insight as to what was so important.

_The King grew restless and made plans for escape,_

_Taking his sword and taking his cape..._

_He said to the queen, "I will travel yonder." _

_To which the queen shook her head and said, "You will go no further." _

_The King grew angry, how dare she defy him!_

_And he grabbed her and said, "You shall not leave this bed!" _

_And so the King shut up his queen and left her to rot, _

_While he went to fulfill his desires without a second thought. _

_He traveled far and wide..._

_To the place that would take him across the sky._

_His power was vast and he was confident..._

_But he didn't pick up his wife's scent. _

_He said the incantation, and made his wish..._

_But instead of him it was the Queen who went._

_The King watched helpless as his lover floated up into the sky..._

_And surely, he thought, she had died. _

_But somewhere inside he could still feel her soul..._

_And then he was determined to accomplish his goal._

_He would find his wife if it was the last thing he did..._

_But another forty-two moons would go by until he was permitted. _

Azure eyes snapped open and the Hokage of the Leaf was jolted back into the conscious world once more. Where had he heard those words before? He surmised he would never get an answer to that as the more and more of the dream he remembered It seemed his exhaustion finally caught up with him after going a couple of days without sleep and he was paying the price for it now; falling asleep without warning. It wasn't exactly frightening, but it made him wary. What if an enemy all of a sudden found where the evacuation point was and killed everyone before he could wake? Kurama was the reason for his sure survival, but the others didn't have their lives set in stone like he did, which is why the blonde felt that it was his responsibility that not a single person in the cave perished.

He looked around. Civilians were safe, sanity completely missing but still relatively safe, sand jounin and chuuni—whats left of them—were done healing the wounded amongst them and were awaiting further orders if they ever received any, sand anbu made a perimeter towards the mouth and back of the cave at some point during his slumber; he would ask Kakashi about it later, and speaking of the man, he seemed to be missing from the group. Neji was sitting at the mouth of the cave, perhaps resting.

"Kurama."

"He's outside speaking with the no-tails' host. He seems of right mind. His brother is also present."

Naruto stood and frowned, his cloak swished about his legs, and some civilians took notice of him. "And you didn't wake me for his arrival?"

"There was no waking you from that type of slumber kid. There's only so much I can do pertaining to your sub-conscious mind. Messing with something so delicate can be dangerous. I'm sure you're aware of that by now."

Blonde eyebrows furrowed together as footsteps led toward the mouth of the cave. The anbu standing guard there were in his way and they were saying something about his business for wanting to speak to their leader. It seemed as though the attack made them forget any type of protocol and manners; fear did that to people.

Naruto responded to Kurama instead of the antsy Anbu in front him, which would've been the better option out of the two.

"I know that," he snapped, "but there won't be any harm done in simply waking me up."

"That's a weak argument in comparison to potentially being brain dead by the time I'm done with you."

"And one would think you would have better control than that Kurama."

A couple moments of silence, "Its happened before. You should at least talk to the Nibi if you're going to ask me to do anything with something as sensitive as your human mind."

The _Nibi_? He hadn't been told about anything of the sort involving her, but then again his relationship with the rest of the biju wasn't as deep as it was with Bee and was pale in comparison to Kurama, however, such a thing should be expected.

"Fine."

In reality, one of the Anbu squad members was furiously questioning Naruto while said man was mute and seemed to be staring at something a little bit past his head. It made the whole squad anxious and all they could think of was a possible rampage from the host of the Kyuubi. They prepared to do what they thought necessary should that ever happen and the Hokage of the Leaf not answering any of their questions didn't put him in the best light in their eyes.

"Stand aside."

The blonde suddenly casting the Anbu male in front of him his undivided attention sparked fear and not just for that reason alone, but also because his eyes were afflicted with Kurama's natural trademark. Chakra points began to surge and weapons were slowly being drawn. The Anbu male that was in front of Naruto was male, aggressive, and slightly condescending with his demanding tone. He would surmise that the Anbu male is a captain, a title the blonde used to hold himself, and he couldn't help but sigh.

If only he had known what being Hokage had in store for him...he would've glady decided to stay as he was.

"It's a little late for that now neh?" Only the sound of chains could be heard in the back of the blonde's head as a deep rumble echoed through his body, "after all that talk over the years of becoming what you are and you regret it now?"

Naruto bristled in slight defense, "I don't regret my decisions or actions. There's only one and you know what it is," the fox made a noise of agreement."...all I'm saying is that Anbu life was easier. That's all."

"Right. Taking a mission and just killing whoever has a target on their head sat well with you." Kurama snorted.

"We never killed anyone senselessly. And that was a time where I was needed there and it couldn't be helped. It was for the village. Don't use that against me." 

"Good for the village...or good for Tsunade?" 

Naruto shut his mind away from Kurama and decided he wouldn't speak to him for awhile. It wouldn't do any good to get worked up anyway while in a sensitive situation such as the one he was in. He was going to be attacked soon and he could see it plainly by the way the Anbu group in front of him were tensing and going into fighting stances. He seemed almost arrogant as he stood there unguarded and unmotivated in front of them, and he didn't mean to come off this way, but he had no intention of correcting himself. He was the leader there not them and he wouldn't back down to anyone, which was as much as a blessing for him as it was a curse. His eyes lingered on every single male in front of him and it was then that he made a decision. He wouldn't fight back if they decided to follow through with attacking him. He refused to raise a hand against the people he set out to save, it undermined the purpose of his presence.

"What martyr way of thinking."

He frowned at the fox's easy way of getting through the barriers he set up. "It's not a fault of theirs. They're just scared."

"And what exactly did you do to ease that fear?"

_Nothing_. Naruto knew the answer to Kurama's rhetorical question and decided to avoid it, however while in the midst of doing so, he remembered the significance of the song he heard in his dream. It made him give pause for a faintest of moments and he wondered if the fox knew something about that as well. Azure eyes widened in almost fear and recognition

_That song was the same as the prophecy he heard._

"What's this?"

And just like that all thoughts of prophecies and hidden meanings was placed on the back burner of his mind at the sound of Gaara's voice. When the red-head got to the mouth of the cave he didn't know, but the slight narrowment of his light eyes was a prime indicator that he saw everything he needed to see. Chakra flares were no longer existent and in its stead was a thick layering of shame that could almost be seen. Kakashi was behind the Kazekage and staring at Naruto with a none too pleased look, while Neji seemed to have just awoken at the approach of an overbearing chakra signature that could've belonged to only one person. Kankuro wasn't too far from his brother and went to give the Anbu group a piece of his mind until Gaara stopped him with one hand on his shoulder. A wordless conversation passed between them before the red-head was once again placing his attention back on the group before him.

"I leave for a moment and this is how you treat the Hokage of the Leaf? The leader of our greatest ally?"

The blonde could see it clearly now. The shame had increased ten-fold and caused all other miniature conversations from the civilians to stop, they seemed to take notice of their leader's return for the first time and began to curse and snarl at him. The civilians of less stable minds oddly remained quiet in his presence. Naruto inwardly winced at some of the things that were said and emotionally felt for Gaara. It was common knowledge that he loved his village even through the years when the bulk of it attempted to kill him and to hear the same civilian's he bled for and would die for curse at him made Naruto ache a little. Kankuro seemed to notice this as well and went to settle them down. Gaara glared at the Anbu group for a moment longer before finally resting his eyes on Naruto and nodding at him, acknowledging his presence and conveying to him that they had much to talk about. The group of men in front of him parted like waves as he passed through, while one remained standing in his way, refusing to meet his eye. It was the same Anbu captain that relentlessly questioned and challenged Naruto. Gaara looked down at him and waited.

"How could you pardon that...that monster?!"

That word rang deep with Naruto, and his eyes widened at the cruel memories it brought back. It was the time when everyone in his village avoided him and called him similar names. Back then he didn't know why and didn't know that none of it was his fault. All he knew for sure back then was that he was alone in his plight of survival. His heart throbbed a little as he turned his back on the group of people before him, Gaara included.

"He's the so called strongest ninja around! And yet he doesn't get here until after the beast tears through our whole village?!"

_Crack_.

Someone cried out in pain and thinking something happened to one of his advisers , Naruto swiftly turned around only to see that same Anbu captain sitting unceremoniously on his ass while barely touching his fractured cheekbone. Gaara's eyes were almost alight with rage as he stared down at him, a slight twitch at the edge of his mouth indicating how much control he had to keep from cracking his skull.

"What exactly did you want him to do? He has a village of his own that he needs to look after, comrades for himself that need his power and life more than you as an individual would ever need. And you would ask such a thing for him? And what would you have me do? Would you have me take up the blame for an entire village, that's quite frankly bigger than ours, losing their leader and knocking them into disarray? That monster is the reason why the rest of you are still alive. Anything could've happened to the rest of you while I was away and no one would be here to protect you. No one else besides us knows what took place here and I'm sure prior to Naruto finding our village in ruins he had some other reason for coming here. He could've easily just walked away as soon as he found out this had something to do with the phantom but he did not and this is how you thank him...by labeling as the very thing that has the power to protect and save you," Gaara brushed pass him and met with Naruto at his side, "it almost makes me wonder what you say about me when I'm not around."

Kakashi scratched the back of his head awkwardly as he followed behind the two leaders, with Neji not too far behind, and towards the back of the cave where it was near dark.

"I leave the rest to you Kankuro." Gaara called out.

Said man made a loud noise of affirmation and the four went about their way, stopping when the red-head held out his hand. He made quick hand signs and the area they were standing in began to tremor. The darkness in front of them began to crumble away and reveal light as sand poured towards their feet and a secret room was uncovered. It was small in size, but fully capable of holding four men inside. Naruto, Kakashi, and Neji entered one by one into the meeting room while Gaara stood off to the side to enter in behind them, and once everyone was inside, he turned towards the exit and clapped his hands together; sealing the entrance and exit up again.

In the middle of the room was a hard, sand-made round table that could hold roughly five people with the same amount of sand-made chairs. The ceiling of the place was set relatively low and molded in with the hard rock of the cave making it naturally hard to get to, and the source of the slight breeze filtering out the stale air relied with the oval shaped holes made in the front of the room. Looking through them absent-mindedly, Naruto found the cave to be much longer than he thought and most likely ran all the way through the canyon which was why there was air passing through. That could lead to some complications later on, but Naruto would voice them later. Azure eyes then rested on Gaara and looked him over for any injuries and was satisified when he found none. However, he was slightly surprised that it was now that he noticed the difference in Gaara's appearance. It had grown over time but he never noticed the difference. His red hair for example, was something that he always kept short, but as of now it was starting to grow out a bit on the sides and in the back to where it just barely brushed the start of his back and the tips of his ears, bangs which he had grown out as well were pushed back to expose his forehead. He had a habit, that Naruto knew of, that involved him pushing his hair back with his dominant hand in stress and the blonde surmised that after tonight he had been doing that a lot. His attire had hardly changed over the years due to Suna's climate being the same year-round. The color of his robes however, changed from the pale red Naruto was so used to seeing, to a sandy kind of orange that more or less blended in with the background that was Suna. Other than the slight color difference, his attire was still baggy and lose for the climate and that gourd was still with him wherever he went, something he could do without, but chose not to, very much like Naruto's cloak.

"I suppose my next move should be to call a summit," The Kazekage said with an almost sigh, he was against calling them as well, "it's the only logical step left."

The blonde watched as the redhead sat down across from him at the table and felt his advisers relax abit, their tension easing. The blonde nodded his head at his companion in thanks for easing his men, something he could only feel guilty about later because he didn't offer that same courtesy.

Naruto nodded, "At first I thought with your absence I would have to call it myself, but the attack was on your soil. I can only be your witness at this point."

"More like my protector."

The blonde's mouth turned up in a frown, "Gaara that's not—"

"I know what you meant. But I'm not going to sit here and pretend that the other Kage won't accuse me for being behind this. I've been secretive, neutral at the summits, and not very receptive to treaties or agreements of the sort. It's justified suspicion." He explained calmly.

If Naruto was correct he would say that his friend seemed almost resigned to his fate defeated in a sense that indicated he wouldn't fight back against those that opposed him. The blonde could see why. The heart of Gaara was his village and the people in it, and the beast devoured every child and infant, which in turn led to the insanity of the scarred civilians. Naruto wouldn't wish that on anyone, not even his greatest and cruelest enemy. If the blonde was being completely honest, then he would say that his friend almost seemed resigned towards his oncoming fate, whatever that may be. Good or bad, he didn't seem too concerned for himself. He didn't have much more to protect other than the men he led that would follow him anywhere.

"Come back to Konoha with me." the blonde demanded firmly.

Gaara's eyes widened slightly in surprise, obviously not expecting such a request. Briefly he looked at Naruto's advisers and he saw their surprised expressions as well and surmised they were just as caught off guard as he was.

It took him a moment, but it wasn't long before Gaara was offering a response to the Hokage of the Leaf, "What about my people?" Naruto immediately went to protest but was silenced by the other Kage's hand, "Suna is all they know Naruto. How could I just up-root them from the place they've grown up and bore their children in for generations?"

Naruto's eyes lost their hard edge for a moment and he truly understood where his friend was coming from. It was by no means a simple decision that could be taken lightly, but if compared to the alternative, his suggestion made much more sense.

"There's nothing left..." the blonde paused and stared deep into the Kage's eyes so his words could sink in, "your people have nothing left to build on here. It's horrible, I know, and it won't be easy by any means, but at least they can have the chance to heal back at the Leaf. They can start anew. Staying here is suicide."

Bright, teal eyes narrowed, and the Kage found his throat tightening in stress and disdain. Everything he had ever built had turned into a pool of blood. The last thing he ever wanted to happen, happened, and it was the fault of this phantom. A beast that he only saw a glimmer of before it tore his sister open in front of his eyes. His blood attempted to boil and he quickly reigned it in. Patience was a virtue of his now and he chose to abide by it considering his anger was no longer explosive, but rather an underlying current of force. It's how he got his people to trust him again, and now they longer did.

"If you'll allow me to comment on something, Hokage-sama."

Teal eyes cast their attention on the Hyuuga who stood near the entrance of the small meeting room. He couldn't read past the blank expression on the male's face, but he knew from past conversations between himself and Naruto that the man was highly opinionated and set within his beliefs and morals. He never got the chance to really interact with the man too much in person but he wondered vaguely how their personalities would clash, if at all, should they start to be within the other's vicinity more often.

Naruto turned his head sharply to fix Neji with a hard stare that made said man's skin crawl, but he refused to let that show, and prevailed. The Kage was watching the interaction between the two unfold and then looked to the only other person in the room who seemed to be neutral, and that person was Hatake. The man sat to his right and appeared to be very languid in his posture. Gaara knew this was a sort of trademark with the jounin and senior adviser to throw off his opponents and he surmised it was just out of habit now. His flak jacket was different color from its normal green and again Gaara made the assumption it was a privilege for the advisers while his bottoms were a bit baggier than normal due to where they were, it was a wonder how he survived with the tight face mask though and the Kage entertained that fancy of a thought until he didn't anymore. He wasn't very familiar with him either, but after their lengthy discussion outside that included a sort of de-briefing of the situation, he could say that the man was wise and could see why Naruto took to him so well. It was something deeper than the relationship the two already had just from being in the other's lives for so long, and it almost seemed dark.

There was something dark tying those two men together and Gaara would rather not find out what.

He brought his mind back to reality and noted that the Hyuuga was still asking for permission to speak on the topic that him and Naruto were discussing; clearly the blonde seemed intent on not giving him such allowance. Animosity flowed like waves off the Leaf's Kage, and the redhead decided to step in for said man's sake.

"I'm actually curious to what your adviser has to say Naruto."

Azure eyes then fell on teal ones and the blonde found himself giving the Hyuuga a warning glare before acknowledging him to speak with the nod of his head in the male's direction. Once Neji realized his request had been granted, he paused and seemed to gather his words and thoughts before speaking.

"I think it would be in your best interest to leave with us, Kazekage-sama."

Always respectful to those above him, Gaara noted. As opinionated as Naruto told him he was, the redhead knew that much was true, but he didn't have the brass to buck up against his superiors without cause. It was smart. It was also an excuse to bid one's time to strike for a later time as well. And he could respect that at least. As for his opinion of finding it reasonable for him to go back to the Leaf with them, Gaara knew well enough that the action was the next logical step. It just wasn't what he wanted. He nearly abhorred the idea of leaving his homeland forever. He knew it would be forever because as soon as he stepped past the borders leading out of Suna he wouldn't want to come back. The sand dunes would haunt and taunt him. They would remind him of what he once had.

"However, I believe you should leave the citizens that have suffered tonight behind."

Naruto's eyes widened and it was then that he snarled at the Hyuuga in disgust. He knew it was a mistake to let him speak when Gaara was so vulnerable. Damn him and his leniency!

"You can't possibly be serious with that suggestion. I have every intention of bringing the rest of Suna with us." the blonde argued.

Neji's eyes narrowed down at his Hokage, his wariness right out the window as he realized that his leader was once again making decisions based on his emotions rather than his brain. It was one of the many reasons that some people opposed him so much. He was hot-headed, and as endearing and terrifying as he was, he knew that his decisions came from a good place. This decision however would affect their villagers back in the Leaf and the Hyuuga would be damned if they took a risk like that.

"The people of Sunagakure are no longer mentally stable enough to be in the presence of our civilians. It would endanger them."

The blonde silently simmered in fury. The Kazekage wouldn't leave Suna without his people and even asking him to part with the last bit of his civilians he had left was incredibly insensitive.

Gaara recovered from his momentary shock enough to actually respond then, "I will not part with my people." and that was final.

Naruto opened his mouth to say something, until Neji beat him to the punch, "The people of Suna cannot mingle with the sane of the Leaf. They've been exposed to too much and mass hysteria would be inevitable" he then swiftly turned to address Naruto dead on, this he was quite adamant about, "Hokage-sama you cannot allow his people permission to travel with us."

The redhead frowned, "Do not presume that the people I govern over are so critically damaged that they would think to harm anyone."

Neji swiftly turned to face him, his anger and annoyance rapidly increasing, "Did you even hear the things they said about you? What they would do if you happened to be defenseless? Are those really the kind of people you would permit in someone else's village?!"

"Enough!"

Silence.

Naruto closed his eyes in frustration and laid his hands flat on the table in front of him; calming himself down as he did so, "Kakashi..."

Said man languidly turned his head to peer at the man with the entire world on his shoulders, "Hmm?"

"What do you think is the best choice?...I'm asking for your wisdom here." Naruto said with a lowered tone.

The jounin lightly put a hand under his chin in thought for a moment before making a quick decision and resting his hands on his lap.

"I see no harm in bringing the Kazekage's people with us to Konoha."

Gaara seemed to relax a bit at the sound of this, while Neji gritted his teeth.

"However...they should be kept in one sectioned place and kept under watchful eye."

Neji crossed his arms as he actually considered the possibility of such an idea working, "And where exactly in the village can we do exactly that and have it far enough away from civilians? Not to mention whom exactly would be those eyes watching over them."

It was then Kakashi leaned back in his chair and shoved his hands in his pockets, his expression going as serious as anyone else could tell, "That's quite simple. The Uchiha grounds."

* * *

A/N: What I find completely absurd about this whole thing is that 1) I've been spelling "advisors" wrong this whole time and no one told me and 2) I totally gave the Sharingan a Byakugan's abilities and the Byakugan the Sharingan's ability and no one told me. What kind of reviewers are you all? Lmao! You guys just let me look like a fool. That's nice lol. I have the best readers ever. I also didn't mean to make Naruto's section so long compared to everyone else's, it's just that I made his character so interesting and full of hidden motive that I couldn't control myself. Sasuke will get his time to shine (as he always does, sigh). Kiba and the advisers' point of view is something that I'm more or less playing with. I could either add more of that or less of that, you guys can decide. Until then, they will have snippets here and there, I just think it's fun to reveal their political power and then at the same time show just how in the dark they are about the person that leads them and what he does behind closed doors. Now... I have starkly different opinions when it comes to dictators or anything of the sort, but there's something about corruption that I just find myself leaning towards in my writing, and I think it shows in this specific story line.

And before anyone attempts to correct me, fased is an actual word, just not acceptable to use in formal language (I think. There's an actual definition for it and everything, it just...*sigh* I don't even know). A slang term if you will. But like all other words it has a definition which means to bother or embarrass. Example: That doesn't fase me. My computer as I type is attempting to correct it but it can't because I am the master haha.

Satsujin - Murder


	12. Chapter 12

A/N: This installment will have more point of views from other people I swear ^^"

* * *

Chill bumps littered the length of slender, pale arms.

She stared the person in front of her down with hard, pale eyes, disregarding the crawl going up and down her back.

To think that anyone else alive still had the ability to intimidate her was almost unfathomable and for a second, if she were to close her eyes, maybe she would still be able to believe that herself. But the person in front of her wouldn't allow it, wouldn't tolerate anything less than her full, undivided attention.

Just a couple inches taller than her, Sakura stared down at the Hyuuga heiress. Emerald eyes blinked slowly in an almost hypnotizing way and something within Hinata made her almost fall victim to whatever spell the Haruno was casting, if she was at all. That blank slate of a mask that only had holes for the adorner's eyes and nothing else was the source of the heiress' anxiety, it was almost completely bare, making the user appear as something less than human with less emotion. She wanted to claw it right off, she hated them—those masks! Those damn masks! So white and utterly clean, not a speck on them, as if the pinkette polished it after every single day her and Naruto went missing. For her to come back like this, and for the two of them to meet like this—out of the blue and simply crossing paths! What kind of cruel trick was this?!

Those gleaming gauntlets on her fists that trickled with blood and small bits of flesh, as if she just stepped out of a fight that she ended in a bloodbath. Why was she walking around like that? Didn't she know she was making the civilians wary? They were no strangers to bleeding and broken shinobi, but this? No. Not to mention the stench of death that just seemed to coat her entire being and begged for her attention—no completely demanded it. It made her eyes water and the urge to cover her nose and mouth strong.

She found herself flinching when the pinkette's covered hand slowly twitched, then moved up, higher and higher still, to remove that _thing_. Hinata held her breath. It was just like any other time an Anbu member took off their mask, nothing would make this any different...just why was her breath so shaky? Clutching the sides almost too harshly, the lieutenant gripped porcelain and gently shed the covering lying on her face. Her nerves melted away a bit when she could see her face. She exhaled a breath she hadn't known she'd been holding, but that crawl going along her pretty flesh was still there. That slightly lewd smile that was often seen on Sai's face occupied on Sakura's was the cause.

With a slight lilt to her tone, she spoke, "There's a saying that flies around here," she slowly circled around the heiress like a predator would, ghosting her fingertips along her hair and shoulders, or so it felt, "it's most commonly used around children actually."

The armored woman stepped a bit closer than Hinata thought necessary and instantly she felt her Byakugan slowly activating as she stepped back. Seeing her added wariness, the lieutenant stopped her advance immediately; a flash of a frown crossing her face.

"Curiosity killed that bothersome cat. But that will never be you, you at least understand privacy," her frown deepened then, as if she didn't understand why the dark-haired beauty was acting the way she was, "it's my responsibility to make sure my sensei is without stress."

Hinata clenched her pearly white teeth together so hard they began to hurt. Sakura was long gone by then, nodding her pink head when it seemed like the Hyuuga understood and then languidly stepping around her, and Hinata was still rooted to the spot she was standing in because her mind was temporarily blown. How had she known? Tsunade had to have mention her questioning at some point, otherwise Sakura wouldn't have said what she did. There was no such thing as an empty threat in this part of town.

Jaw locked and scowl firmly in place, the current beauty Hinata marred her own face with a look that many of her own clansmen feared if they happened to catch a glimpse of it themselves. Such an ugly expression truly didn't suit a woman of her standing, nor did it suit her appearance, and the root of it all relied with the sudden memory of the brief interaction she had with Sakura shortly after her and Naruto returned to the village after their disappearance. She wondered what made such a thing come to the forefront of her mind anyway and why it had to be now after all this time anyway and she surmised it must've been the blank wall she'd been staring at in the bathroom. It was just so...empty and all consuming for some reason, as if it would swallow her up.

The pinkette had long since passed and even thinking of her led somewhere dark and oppressing for the heiress that she quite frankly didn't want to revisit. Times were tough back then during that war, and the future for everyone seemed very bleak. People were losing morale and hope for the future, soldiers of Konoha were beginning to get their hearts ripped out for the sake of safety for the village and that was the requirement for what they would be made to do, the walls were built a bit higher and sturdier with resemblance to a place that would rather keep everyone in than letting people out. It was a makeshift prison then, more of a ominous place now.

She quickly shook herself out of thoughts of the past and busied herself with the wound starting to become a bother. It stung like no one's business and had become incredibly sore in a matter of seconds the moment she woke up. This served as a reminder as to what happened last night and the worst part about it was that it happened to be immune to any sort of healing chakra she put into it. She wasn't as proficient in the art as Ino was, but she wasn't a beginner, and everything she tried bore no results. Pale eyes glanced at it once more in the semi-clean mirror in front of her, grimacing at the shallow yet agonizingly painful slits on her flesh. Although she vaguely remembered that thing having five fingers, only three gashes occupied her shoulder at the moment. No complaint there, she was just glad she was alive and Sasuke...he was alive as well. How he managed to find a way out of there with her along with him she would never know unless she asked him, but until then she would allow him the rest that he so deserved.

Another passing glance at the gashes on her shoulder made her grimace in disgust. What an _ugly_ thing. It was already starting to swell and sport a violent shade of purple, it leaked with not only blood, but puss as well, and just the smell of it made her quickly turn away. A probing voice in the back of her head worried if it maybe..._infected_ with something. Which was, in all retrospect [to save her sanity], impossible. No one had any real knowledge of the beast other than the fact that it seemingly had a never ending stomach and lust for blood and no one survived the attack long enough to find out whether its claws or jaws were poisonous if allowed contact with flesh.

_Still_.

She wrung her hands in apprehension and thought. It would do her no good at all to let the what-if's filter into her general thought process, and for right now she should focus on the situation at hand. Pale eyes looked about and landed on the small wall cabinet off to the side of her above the toilet, which of course, was something horrid to look at [was that a rat floating in there?!]. Careful not to bump her injured shoulder on anything around her, she moved a few paces over towards it and stifled a groan of pain and discomfort as the flow of pain stretched down the length of her arm. The progression of such pain began to frighten her bit by bit, but she fought through it and used her good left arm to open the cabinet in search of a first aid kit. She was in luck as a rather small white box was all that greeted her as she peered inside among other things that she would rather not her eyes linger on for much longer. Quickly swiping the little thing and leaving the bathroom, she hastily made her way to her bed on the left side of the medium sized room and sat down. She had half the mind to dump the contents of the box all over the place to find what she needed once she realized the pain was beginning to increase to near unbearable heights. Tears gathered in the corner of her eyes as she hissed aloud, her face beginning to flame red from the strain of resisting the powerful urge to scream until she finally located the small bottle of alcohol and hastily pouring the contents onto open, bleeding flesh. Her initial shout was immediate while the rest was just shallow whimpers and cries of pain. She looked down to see the reaction and could only look away from the sight of the foam building from the alcohol and the sizzling sound of chemical coming into contact with the wound. This was beginning to get too much for her. All she wanted right then and there was to go back to the compound and be surrounded by the people she knew and the surroundings she had grown up seeing.

With a wry smile she shook her head then at the idea. She was in too deep to turn back now. Yes she would have to go back eventually, but she would never feel that comfort and reassurance that she once used to feel. She had already made her bed and now it was time for her to lie in it after all these years. Even if it killed her she would find out the truth, she would know everything even if it killed her, no matter how horrible and ugly it was, even pass the point that it may blow her to smithereens.

Hinata was so caught in her resolve that she hadn't noticed when the pain in her shoulder began to quell to a slight throb. The gashes were deep enough, but not wide enough to need stitches. Besides that, she wouldn't bandage it yet considering she just poured alcohol all over it. She would let it air dry and begin to heal on its own. Hopefully the process wouldn't take long, but it would considering she couldn't speed it up with chakra.

Drowsiness began to ebb at her senses and she angrily thought she had done enough of that already if the orange light outside wasn't indication. She didn't want to be dead to the world in case something happened, and she refused to be yet another factor Sasuke had to worry about in the case of surviving. As much as it would kill her to admit it, she owed the Uchiha a lot. He was by no means obligated to save her if it meant he could've possibly been devoured himself by the beast, and she hadn't quite proved to him she was an ally of his either. She was almost positive that he had no idea whether or not, had the shoe been on the other foot, she would've done the same. And still he saved her and took her kami knows where to keep them both safe. She almost felt even more despicable for lamenting over the fact that her bargaining chip was gone, and that the Uchiha now held all the cards by having a larger, more valuable chip. Her method of potentially using him as a pawn was now completely demolished due to the fact that she now was indebted to him. The whole _I-scratch-your-back-you-scratch-mine_ method she was angling with no longer held any merit. It was quite literally a _I-saved-your-life-now-do-as-I-say_ situation she would soon be facing. _Damnit_.

Movement caused pale eyes to glance at the bed across from her and observe as onyx eyes slowly opened and languidly peered about the room. He laid on his side on top of the sheets, still in his clothes but without his footwear with his head on the pillow. The shinobi in her made her refrain from making any sudden movements in case he mistook her as threat before he fully awoke. She could count on both of her hands how many times Kiba was almost eaten alive by Shino's bugs due to that same mistake and she would be damned if she made that same mistake now. It could be fatal on the battlefield, even more fatal among comrades, if that's what she could call him.

He rose slowly, seeming just as lethargic and tired as she felt and sat up enough to sit with his legs thrown over the side of his bed. How he was able to actually rest in this kind of situation was amazing to her and she had an excuse because she was unconscious the whole time. Sasuke was also staring at her with an intensity that began to unsettle her. It made her haunches rise and her mouth go flat in irritation. What the hell was he staring at anyway?

"Something to say?"

He seemed to pause momentarily and then look down at her shoulder, grimacing at the sight before returning his attention to her face, "That's the only place you're injured right?"

She nodded and did her best to get comfortable without having to shift her right arm, letting his avoidance of her question slide because arguing with someone who saved your life was incredibly rude, "I'm pretty sure if I was injured anywhere else I would be dead. That thing is incredibly strong and one injury, even as small as this one, is enough for me."

Sasuke frowned, "Those gashes hardly stretch down to your forearm, and the last I looked at them, they only went deep enough to graze your muscle."

"This isn't just any old wound," she snapped, her anger bleeding into her tone a little, "it won't even permit me to heal it. Any kind of healing chakra seems to melt around it. Almost as if there's a barrier that doesn't permit chakra."

The Uchiha seemed to pause as he took in the new information and then presumed that it only made sense.

"Well it's not like it [the beast] leaves chakra behind. It's almost impossible to believe that it relies on nothing but brute strength alone. I wouldn't be surprised if it happened to be immune to any sort of chakra that attempts to touch it as well."

"On the contrary," she tilted her head to the side in thought, "that man's jutsu seemed to work on it, at least, it did the job that it was meant to. Maybe it's more of the technical jutsus that don't work, but the ninjutsus that do. Trying to change its genetic make-up in any way, shape, or form won't work."

Sasuke nodded his head in agreement, however, the presumption the Hyuuga came up with was just that. No one would know unless they lived long enough to try, and the chances of that were very slim.

"Where are we?" she asked him.

His eyes traveled elsewhere as he observed the room they were in for the second time, "Neighboring village's outskirts not far from Konoha. It's quiet here and hasn't seemed to be touched by the beast, I don't think it followed us either."

It was once more that Hinata was looking at him in a new light. He really was as strong and as capable as he was always said to be over the years. It wasn't as if she hadn't believed those words all this time, it was just that it didn't really affect her personally so she never cared. The praise over Neji, however, did. Even Hanabi was said to one day grow stronger than the elder sister if she harnessed her strength more, but that chance was long gone now.

"How did you even manage to escape it?" her eyes then met his as she searched for her answer, nearly astonished and nearly grateful as she should be, "everyone else that was there was killed before we even knew what we were up against."

He blinked a couple of times before he broke the intense gaze they shared, "I waited. I had a lot of options I could've chosen, but I knew that the window of time before I made one was closing," he closed his eyes for a second, inhaling then exhaling, "I took a chance and hoped it would all work out in the end."

And it _did_. It was dawning on her then and there that it was by some hand of fate that he was able to escape with her. There was a foreign emotion of gratefulness that was beginning to overwhelm her and the universal phrase that came with that was starting to roll off her tongue faster than she could catch it. Onyx eyes blinked languidly as they returned to her face and it almost seemed like maybe he'd missed it. Well...she'd be damned if she said it for the second time.

"It was nothing." he had said quietly, "it would've been a waste for you to place your bets upon me only to be let down in the end."

Her dark eyebrows pinched together in thought at the implication of his words, something in them filling her up with false hope and a glimmer of something that felt related to suspicion. He wasn't...he wasn't _agreeing_ to whatever she was planning was he?

Hinata's face turned serious as she sat a bit straighter and stared at the man across from her, "Are you absolutely sure you want to do this? Are you fully aware that by helping me with whatever I want that you may suffer in the end? That you are ultimately choosing a side?"

"And what side is that?" he asked just as serious as she.

It took her no time at all to respond to this question, "The _winning_ one."

Sasuke refrained from scoffing, opting to shake his head instead, "I believe the real question is if you know whom _you're_ up against. Naruto, as much as I use to know him, is impossible now," just saying his name and remembering what the blonde did made a slight snarl leak into the Uchiha's tone, "he managed to trap me to this damned country until however long and no amount of circles I run around him will change that."

"You're forgetting that I know Naruto now more than you ever will at this point. His methods are cruel and when he's backed into a corner he'll throw his weight around and the people nearest to him will acquiesce to all of his demands," she paused with a huff as she debated telling Sasuke her end goal, "he's a dictator."

He frowned, "You're assuming he's being that way to simply satiate his need to be in control?"

"It doesn't matter why he's making decisions as if he were one. All that matters is that he is what he is and that no longer can be tolerated after so long."

After a long moment of silence, Hinata figured Sasuke was processing the information she had just given him. Not that it was anything new. All she had to do was to push a little more and she would have her trump card in her back pocket. All she needed was his support, and he was questioning what made her worthy of it, if she knew for a fact that by giving her his support she would make something better out of it.

"You want to usurp him." Sasuke concluded.

She nodded her head and he fell silent once more before speaking again.

"And then what?"

"I don't care what happens next or who takes his place afterwards," she ran a hand through her hair, "all that matters is that Naruto is no longer the Hokage."

Onyx eyes peered at her, "Are you prepared to do whatever you must to ensure this? Using _violence_ if need be?"

She returned his heavy stare with one of her own, "I've made this commitment long before you've returned and soon after Naruto became Hokage. I've been making moves ever since then."

Not an exact answer to his question, but he assumed that meant she would be willing if she had to and wouldn't oppose him if he wanted to. "I have one condition if I'm to assist you." his voice was firm.

"And that is?" she was sure it wouldn't be anything major.

He tilted his head to the side as if gauging her next reaction, "His seat as Hokage...I want it."

* * *

"The Uchiha grounds?" Gaara didn't hide his incredulous expression as his head swiveled back to Naruto, "would that be okay?"

The blonde's face was grave as he considered all the backlash he could get for ultimately making the decision. It was enough to make his usual straight-forward thinking halt for a moment. This could go from bad to worse in a heartbeat.

Neji was stumped, almost defeated. At the moment he resented the silver-haired veteran in front of him for figuring out a way to somehow let those crazy people tag along with them. It wasn't just his own inhibitions he was looking out for, but their civilians' as well. They weren't stupid. It wouldn't be hard to figure out something is wrong with them. The people of the sand also weren't mere cattle that they could keep harbored in one place however long they saw fit either, they're still human—crazy—but still human, and they couldn't just live a life of isolation. They would eventually grow tired of each other's company and seek out the friendship or companionship of others in the village, the isolation would only serve to further their insanity. It was a mistake in the making and apparently his Hokage was too blind by his emotions to see it. That helping heart of his was getting in the way and he could honestly say he liked cruel Naruto more than the one that always felt the need to aid people who couldn't do so themselves. At least the crueler side of him was a thinker.

He could voice none of his worries anymore however, this was his defeat. The most he could revel in was the fact that it would not be him who should fall for this blunder.

Kakashi was silent during the length of the discussion, only giving out his wisdom when he was directly asked, and when the problem was presented to him, he had came up with a solution long ago. It may invoke Sasuke's wrath because whether he hated the replica of the Uchiha grounds or not, he would still abhor other people he didn't know staying in it. Anyone else other than himself wasn't allowed, in his eyes, to be there except him. Even then he still hated the place, hated what it reminded him of. The Anbu veteran would've felt more inclined to care about the Uchiha's emotions on the matter but—he didn't. The death of one of his students was the final straw. Yet another person he had to add to the dark list of people he didn't—no, he couldn't say that. He wouldn't blame himself for her [his student's] death because of some fault of not looking after her. She was a grown woman when she left on her final mission and even then it wasn't like they had the best of relationships. If anything they were estranged and it only took Naruto to bring the three of them together once again. He could, however, blame himself for their relationship. It could've been better. It should've been better. Did he really only favor the boys so much? It sure as hell seemed that way. It sure as hell _was_ that way and he couldn't deny it no matter how many times he actually did.

He was only a man, and with this specific man came a lot of pain—so much pain that he was afraid that one day he just may die. The least he could do was honor those that died, those precious people to him that died. With Sakura—he could've done so much more with her, and he would regret that for the rest of his life. He abandoned her as her teacher so she survived on her own and ventured out to be trained by someone far greater than he. He would forever be grateful to Tsunade for never saying aloud how disappointed she was in him for doing such a thing towards one of his students, but she once thanked him for doing so because as a result she got to know a beautiful young girl that was more like a daughter to her than a pupil.

Naruto once again found himself looking to Kakashi for guidance. The chakra binding was on Sasuke for a reason, but he would rather not have to go through the trouble of the Uchiha causing a scene because of his displeasure of the situation. The blonde knew more than anyone how selfish he could be. He would do anything to achieve his own goals and only after they were completed would he give anyone else a second thought and it was because of that knowledge that the blonde found it easy to resent him—maybe even detest him enough to not care too much about his well being or his feelings. Screw it. He had no idea why he was even giving Sasuke a second thought. Did he ever give him a thought when he abandoned them all those years ago? Did he ever give Sakura a second thought when he was so close to killing her? The blonde really believed he would've killed her had he not have been there. She really would've been gone from them...all because of Sasuke's selfish desires. Was it so expected of him to really give Sasuke a fleeting idea when throughout the years he pissed over every single opportunity for atonement? He must really look like a fool—a fool for a Hokage.

He decided then and there. No more. Sasuke would no longer get any special treatment. Not from him at least, and Naruto considered that to be a mistake in and of itself. The blonde was quite high on the totem pole of power, and having such a man on your side and protecting you was smart and worthwhile.

"We will make accommodations as soon as we get there," Naruto assured, "all you have to do is tell me when you and your people are ready to leave."

Neji scoffed and walked away from the three of them, not getting very far with the exit sealed with hard sand and all, but enough of a distance to gain the minimum amount desired.

Gaara nodded in response and sighed, running a hand through his hair. It would be nice if he got some rest, but...

A sudden, flaring spark of chakra that all of them recognized as Kankuro's had all conversation and thought screeching to a stop. All heads were whipped towards the entrance of their not so secret meeting room and briefly, the two leaders shared a concerned gaze before Gaara swiftly went through hand signs to let down the sand wall. By this point, Neji had moved from the entrance/exit and took a slightly defensive position nearest to the Kazekage. Opinions be damned, he would still do what was expected of him. Kakashi stood as well at some point. He didn't think it was anything too serious—his gut usually told him if there was any real danger afoot, but he wouldn't take the chance while Naruto was there. The sand wall fell away to reveal Kankuro with an emergency messenger hawk on his arm. At the sight of the brown-haired male, the two advisers visibly relaxed, only to stiffen up later on once the hawk came into full view with its bright red feathers. The emblem engraved on its wing was quite clearly from the Leaf. Kankuro immediately walked it over to Naruto, as it wasn't his place to read such a message that was so obviously intended for a Hokage's eyes.

"It came just a couple of minutes ago," he addressed the two Leaf advisers then, "I checked it over myself for authenticity and traps."

Neji and Kakashi both nodded their heads in thanks, then looked over at Naruto for the reason of the message. The hawk didn't fight once the blonde swiftly, but gently untied the message from around its clawed foot and was quite docile as the same man slowly lowered it onto the table in case he needed to quickly write a response and send it back. He unraveled the small scroll, and the short message read as follows: "Our gift is a hellion."

Naruto calmly bit his thumb, drawing blood instantly, and swiped it across the material of the paper. He then rolled it back to a close and set it down on the table in front of them, surprising most of the people in the room when the message suddenly went up in flames, leaving nothing behind but small specks of ash and the smell of something recently burned. His eyes turned grave as he began to stand and from then on the amount of heaviness in the room grew ten-fold.

"What is it?" Neji questioned, "are we being attacked?"

Kakashi remained silent as he watched the blonde intently.

"I have to return to Konoha first," Naruto announced, ignoring the Hyuuga's questioning frown, "but I won't leave Suna unattended," he addressed Kakashi by looking at him and the man gave him his full attention, "I need the both of you to safely escort the Kazekage and the rest of Suna to Konoha. The commute should give me enough time to assume control over the situation within the village and everything should be ready to go upon your arrival. Consider this an official mission of the highest ranking at this point. I will not tolerate any kind of losses or failure."

The Anbu veteran nodded stiffly, "I understand."

Neji was still expectant of some sort of explanation that he was never going to receive and he also awaited specific orders but didn't get any of those either. It infuriated him to no end, and he would be sure that the rest of the council heard about it during their next meeting, but he understood that there would be a time and place for his complaints and right now wasn't it. He knew by the look on Naruto's face that it was important and right now he would simply follow orders.

Gaara looked up at Naruto with a mixture of grief and concern for his comrade, hoping more than he ever thought he could that Naruto wouldn't go through the same pain he did of losing everything he worked so hard to build. He whole-heartedly believed that the blonde wouldn't survive it. The red-head was experienced with loss and although he may have lost most of his village and sister, Naruto had so much more to lose. The Leaf was massive and inhabited many people that he knew the blonde called friend or someone he would instantly protect. Naruto wouldn't survive such pain.

Naruto smiled slightly at the worried frown on the Kazekage's face, happy to know that he would always care about others no matter the blaring fact that he needed to worry about himself too.

"There will be a safe haven for you and your civilians when you get to the Leaf Gaara," the blonde said surely, "everything will be fine, you'll see."

The red-head didn't have the strength to even thank him. He felt over full. Once again Naruto was doing everything in his power to ensure his happiness and comfort. It almost made the loss of his sister so much worse. She was quite fond of Naruto and Sakura.

"I grant you full access to my men if you need them." He offered.

To this Naruto shook his head as he walked towards the exit of the little room, "Although the situation is of major importance, I don't want you and your group not properly attended to. I should have everything settled within a day at most."

Before anything else could be said between the four men, Naruto left the place in a powerful burst of chakra that left a short after-image of him behind.

* * *

The little meeting going on between Ino, Kiba, and Shikamaru was interrupted by a short knock, that made each of them propel their conversation into silence. Kiba took it upon himself to open the door only to reveal Tenten, with a look on her face that could only be described as suppressed horror with a mixture of excitement. He could only blame Ino as the reasoning for the young woman's attitude and demeanor.

The brunette was dressed in a lab coat similar to her partner's, the only difference being that it fell short right below her knees, while a conservative, high-necked, plum dress was what lay underneath. Heeled sandals was what adorned her feet and added more height to her average size. The bangs that framed her forehead parted in the middle and fit her face well, as did the fact that she decided to wear her hair down and the length of it reached the middle area of her back.

She gave the Inuzuka a tight smile then.

"Is Ino busy?"

Kiba stood a little straighter and scratched the back of his head, wondering how she always seemed to know where the no nonsense blonde happened to be.

"No. We were having a meeting of sorts, but that's over now. Anything to report?"

She nodded, "That's actually why I came."

His eyebrows rose in surprise as he quickly widened the door for her to enter, and closed it behind her to have some sort of privacy.

At the sight of a fellow medic, more so of a surgeon, in their presence, Ino seemed to visibly relax at the sight of her. It was no news to anyone that her and the young woman were close because of their mutual interest in the human body and mind. Tenten's mastery of weapons also made her a master with a scalpel, while Ino's obvious skill with healing and examining something as sensitive as someone's brain was her specialty and made the pair a powerful duo.

"Ten," she greeted an easy smile fitting on her face, "you left the hospital in good hands I'm assuming?"

The brunette frowned slightly, "Of course. Yamato-san is covering for me."

"Yamato?"

"He's the head of our nurses you know. It would do well for you to know our staff instead of locking yourself away in your labs."

Shikamaru crossed his arms and interjected, they didn't have time for this, "Well? What's so important that you had to leave your post?"

At this the brunette sobered and slightly soured, "The beast has been taken into custody."

The whole world seemed to pause and Kiba could feel all the hairs on his body bristle with apprehension. This wasn't—she had to be lying.

Nara was the first on the case, "Captured? It can't even be seen."

Tenten put both hands behind her back as a triumphant grin spread across her face, "It's been reported that it was found...feasting at the encirclement just outside of the rear village walls, from then on the four Anbu that appeared on the site did what was necessary to apprehend the creature and bring it here."

Shikamaru's eyes widened for the first time that whole evening as he took a step back, quite literally this was the worst news he's ever received since Asuma's passing.

"You mean to tell us that this...uncontrollable, unpredictable monster, is inside the village where thousands of families reside?"

Now that his question turned cogs in everyone else's mind the news didn't seem so exciting anymore, and a chill ran down everyone's spine, including Tenten's, but she was determined to see the good in this situation.

"It's under control for now, all you would need to do is make the call so they have adequate back up should things go wry wouldn't you?"

Nara sighed heavily in irritation, his patience was running very thin very fast, "It's not that simple!" He snapped, "and I don't have the time to explain why to you. Where are they stationed?"

"Inside the Hokoge monument."

Shikamaru swiftly turned to Ino, whom was already standing and leaving in search of the head of security which was Yugao's position. If they were lucky, they would be able to find her in time before something uncalled for happened. He was completely appalled by the utter disturbance this so called beast stirred up in their village. They were more disorganized then ever and no one had anticipated for the creature to end up close to them, nonetheless be captured by them. None of the other powerhouses could say they successfully captured it and without the presence of their leader to boot. He surmised that if things at the impending summit went sour for the Leaf and accusations were thrown they could always use that. If push comes to shove he would do everything within his power to prevent another war they couldn't afford. Shikamaru's diplomatic skills weren't unheard of and in fact, was the main reason why he was permitted at Naruto's side during such important events. The blonde was known for his temper and explosive words during the summits and he had a hunch the other village leaders did that on purpose just to get a rise out of him. It was on numerous accounts that Nara found himself bending down next to the blonde's ear just to harshly yell at him that he needed to reign in that anger of his before someone got angry enough to want to rip a new one in not just Naruto but their whole village as well.

"I have to tell him," he found himself saying aloud and drawing the attention of Kiba and Tenten, "there's no way we can go on without telling Naruto what's happening. If I delay any longer on what's going on it won't just be my ass on the line here, not to mention the safety of the village."

Tenten's eyes widened as she stepped in the Nara's direction, her hand out as if to stop Shikamaru from moving from where he stood, "Now just hold on a minute here. If you tell Naruto then you'll know what'll happen—"

"Any reason you come up with now won't be half as good as you'll think it is," the Inuzuka crossed his arms and shook his head at the brunette in front of them, "what will we do if someone happens to die trying to control this thing huh?"

She didn't have an answer for him, her slightly trembling clenched fists told them so, but she wouldn't be still about it, it was the only opportunity her and Ino had, "I'm not saying to not tell him. It would be an impossible secret to keep and Naruto isn't stupid. All I'm asking is that you give us time to look over it at least before Naruto comes back and sweeps everything away, never to be seen again, only to come back later and tell us he took care of it while we still have questions that need to be answered. Ten minutes Nara, that's all we need."

Kiba scoffed and shook his head, already unfolding his arms and heading towards the area where the messenger hawks were before a hand on his shoulder stopped him, and before he turned to see who it was, he was hoping that it wasn't Shikamaru. He didn't seriously take Tenten's plea to heart and mind, he didn't truly think it would be okay to wait on telling Naruto, whom was away from the village and didn't know the phantom beast was in it, that everything involving the best wasn't properly protected or watched over—there was no way that smart, reasonable Shikamaru would put so much at risk just because Naruto didn't tell them everything would he?

"...ten minutes is all you have."

* * *

The Uchiha got the seeping feeling that something very domestic and very violent would disrupt the mock atmosphere of peace that Naruto created over the years soon. It didn't take him long to figure out Hinata was behind the coup that the blonde mentioned to him, but Naruto was mistaken in thinking that it was a male that was plotting his destruction. It was then he was also exposed to the fact that he had placed himself in quite possibly the most dangerous position he knew of. It was clear as day that Naruto didn't trust him, hence the chakra binding, but the Hyuuga in front of him was beginning to show a bit of her hand against the same person that only wanted Sasuke to help aid him in his revenge. He had to play his cards right or he could get drawn into the battle between the Hokage of the Leaf, and one of the heirs to the most powerful clan in the Leaf.

Sasuke was serious about the claim on Naruto's throne. He wouldn't mind being someone's Hokage, but that wasn't the full reason as to why he wanted it. And the reason itself wasn't as bright and as righteous as someone like Naruto may have wanted it to be. The Uchiha vaguely wondered what would happen should Hinata realize what his true intentions were. Would she trust him so much then?

"Why would you have any interest in such power anyway?" she asked with slight suspicion in her tone. After all, power used to be his reason for living once upon a time, and back then he stopped at nothing to achieve it.

Onyx eyes gazed at her once more, "You shouldn't worry so much about my intentions. If anything your actions were quite questionable on the surface as well before you explained to me what you were planning to do. I gave you the benefit of the doubt then, and I'm still giving it to you now."

She seemed to consider it and then huffed in what sounded like defeat. Sasuke inwardly smirked. It wasn't exactly her place to question anything he did unless it specifically involved her, but that same courtesy went in her favor too.

"I need information in order for this to work, Uchiha," she stated, "I don't even think you know how deep on the inside you are right now—practically right beside Naruto."

He crossed his arms, "If you're talking about the chakra binding then that's a dead end. It doesn't go both ways. It leaves Naruto as the ultimate ruler of my chakra no matter how far or near he is. He would know if I'm depleted or if it's forcefully being taken from me, how I'm using it or if I'm in a state of rest, or if I'm being healed. It's basically a virtual eye on my back wherever I go. It also serves as a beacon to others powerful enough to sense or see his chakra flowing through my system that I'm associated with the Leaf village."

After some moments of silence, Sasuke wasn't surprised to hear the wry, cynical laugh of the Hyuuga heiress come ringing out. She regained her composure afterwards and shock her head in what seemed to be disgust and dismay.

"This may be more dangerous than I thought," her eyes narrowed in subtle fury, "you belong to him more than I expected. Even if I wanted to—even if you wanted to—we would never be able to fully escape him."

The Uchiha hated the sound of him belonging to anyone, but that's exactly what happened. He had the power to overthrow Naruto, but lacked support of other people and was also blindsided by the blonde tying him to his side. Hinata had the backing and support to usurp Naruto, but lacked the strength. She would also need to somehow manipulate whoever Naruto chose as his successor, and have him make the real decisions behind the scenes. It wasn't what he wanted but he would have to make do. There was also this whole beast epidemic going on. They would rather execute her plan after Naruto has gotten rid of it. If Sasuke was being truly honest he knew that if anyone could exterminate that overgrown parasite it would be Naruto. Despite his resentment towards him, he wouldn't be prideful and consider himself strong enough to kill the beast when he wouldn't have been able to kill all three of those red Anbu by himself (at least not without activating susanoo or amateratsu—which would've been an extreme waste on three people).

He wasn't known to be a patient man and he didn't like the prospect of this whole thing may taking a few years at the most. However, he understood that Hinata hadn't gotten this far into her movements by being impulsive.

"I also should let you know that this process is going to be long, Uchiha," in response, his eyes narrowed dangerously, "Naruto is...smarter than you think, crueler than you think. He may look like the comrade you always knew but he is different. We cannot go by things the way you might, it has to be my way."

"Of course it does," his own diplomatic tone surprised even himself, "I haven't experienced the same amount of change that you have, or anyone else. This whole thing is like walking through a mine field that Naruto created...and you're the only one that knows how to navigate through it."

Hinata remained silent for a moment before once again meeting his eyes, "Do we have a deal?—or rather...do I have your allegiance, your loyalty, and your partnership?"

Onyx eyes stared back at her listlessly, the only time anyone saw them lack their usual luster, "Of course."

* * *

A/N: Hey guys! It's been awhile I know, but I'll at least try to do better with that. I want to explain my reasoning for having everyone the way they are down below:

**Sasuke is weaker than Naruto? But in the manga/anime**—: Yes, but not quite. I shifted the power struggle between Naruto and Sasuke because of the Uchiha's inability to stay sane [in my story plot]. If you guys take apart his words and actions and thoughts you'll notice that it's all over the place. For example, his flip-floppy standing from hating Naruto to admiring him, his allegiance with Hinata to destroy the blonde and yet he was concerned when Naruto told him there was a coup being planned against him [concern or not if Sasuke really didn't care he wouldn't have spoken up about it whether it had something to do with his dead clan or not]. Also if you've read the manga all the way through to the end, Sasuke tells Naruto that he lost to him.

**Sasuke's Psyche**: Have you ever heard of an unreliable narrator? Think on that for a moment.

**Ino and Tenten**: These are the only two (minus Yugao who is truly good) people who play for another team entirely [not the sexual preference team dummy!] and depending on who's looking this could be good or bad.


End file.
